The future of the red metal—A developing country perspective from India

Three plausible scenarios—Tech World, Green World, and Trend World, for copper use in India during the 21st century are presented. The scenario framework is based upon the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios for greenhouse gas emissions and the scenario model is based upon the intensity of use hypothesis. Irrespective of the scenario, India's intensity of copper use will continue to increase until 2050, with rapid growth occurring between 2020 and 2050. By 2100, copper use in India could range between 9 and 17 Tg Cu/year, showing a multiple increase from the present level of 0.3 Tg Cu/year. Three sectors—housing, power, and transport are expected to be the major drivers of copper use. Currently, copper production from secondary copper meets approximately 40% of the contemporary demand. However, the Government of India needs to promote the recycling industry in the country to make it more organized and market driven such that it can provide an important feedstock of resources to meet India's burgeoning demand for materials.