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Charted: Major Copper Discoveries Since 1900

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The following content is sponsored by the BHP

Visualized: Major Copper Discoveries Since 1900

In the evolving landscape of copper mining, deposits are increasingly challenging to locate and extract.

As deposits are found deeper underground, accessing these resources becomes more costly and technically complex, ultimately impacting copper prices.

To highlight this trend, Visual Capitalist partnered with BHP to show the depths and sizes of major copper discoveries found since 1900.

A Century of Copper Discoveries

This graphic shows copper discoveries with over 3 million metric tons of copper equivalent, based on data from MinEx Consulting and BHP up to 2022.

The latest major discovery, made by Filo del Sol in 2020, lies 600 meters below ground and contains just over 11 million metric tons of copper equivalent.

Deposit NameDiscovery YearMillion metric tons of copper equivalentDepth (Meters)
Filo Del Sol202011-600
Hu'u201515-550
Kakula201419-200
Cascabel201312-25
Timok201216-460
Los Helados200911-350
Kamoa200825-70
Los Sulfatos200745-320
Heruga20057-950
Carapateena20055-470
Pebble200237-80
Resolution200227-1280
Hugo Dummett200219-500
Centinela (Sulphide)200018-350
Spence Cu Camp199615-100
Escondida Norte199510-200
Tampakan199215-200
Collahuasi Cu Au Camp199192-75
Batu Hijau19908-45
Ministro Hales198924-300
Grasberg-Ertsberg Project (Camp)198857-25
Escondida (Main Deposit)198185-40
Los Bronces197833-20
Salobo197710-40
Olympic Dam197586-350
Antamina197427-30
Los Pelambres197138-20
Ok Tedi19699-20
Sar Cheshmeh Cu Camp196730-20
El Abra Cu Camp196518-20
Panguna19659-20
Kidd Creek19635-30
Lubin Cu Camp195766-5
Palabora19568-35
Andina Cu Camp1955144-20
Chambishi19526-13
Gaisky Complex19508-30
Udokan194927-15
Kamoto Cu/Co-Operation194026-3
Konkola (Bancroft)193519-5
Kalmakyr193110-5
Dzhezkazgan192922-5
Nkana (Rokana) Division192811-5
Cananea Cu Camp192635-5
Mufulira192316-10
Nchanga192315-10
Tenke Fungurume191827-5
Chuquicamata Cu Camp1910131-5
El Teniente1904127-5
Ely/Robinson19026-5

Andina Copper Camp, discovered in 1955 in Chile, holds a massive 144 million metric tons of copper equivalent, making it the largest deposit discovered since 1900. However, deposits of this scale near the surface are becoming increasingly rare.

Notable discoveries like the Escondida deposit, found at a relatively shallow depth of only 40 meters in 1981, contrast sharply with newer, deeper finds like the Resolution deposit, discovered in 2002 at a depth of 1,280 meters.

The Future of Copper Mining

This trend in recent copper discoveries highlights that copper mines are harder to develop than ever before.

And while copper recycling is expected to play an essential role in meeting growing demand, it won’t be sufficient on its own, according to BHP. An emphasis on primary supply, along with technological progress that improves mine productivity, is crucial.

Overall, BHP’s analysis estimates that a $250 billion investment in the sector is necessary in the next decade to overcome these challenges.

Get more copper insights in BHP’s Economic and Commodity Outlook.

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Charted: Top Suppliers of Aluminum and Steel to the U.S.

President Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports.

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Charted: Top U.S. Suppliers of Aluminum and Steel

Charted: Top U.S. Suppliers of Aluminum and Steel

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, marking one of the most discussed measures of his first month back in the White House.

But which countries are most affected by these tariffs?

This map illustrates the top suppliers of aluminum and steel to the United States in 2024. The data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Canada: The Largest Partner

Canada is by far the top supplier of both steel and aluminum to the United States. The neighboring country exported $9.4 billion worth of aluminum to the U.S. in 2024, significantly ahead of the second-largest exporter, the European Union, which exported $1.5 billion.

Canada also exported $7.1 billion worth of steel last year, compared to $7 billion from the European Union.

CountrySteel Imports (USD)Aluminum Imports (USD)
🇨🇦 Canada$7.1B$9.4B
🇲🇽 Mexico$3.5B$397M
🇧🇷 Brazil$3.0B-
🇨🇳 China$799M$809M
🇹🇼 Taiwan$1.3B-
🇰🇷 South Korea$2.9B$781M
🇩🇪 Germany$1.9B$318M
🇯🇵 Japan$1.7B-
🇮🇳 India$489M$445M
🇪🇺 European Union$7B$1.5B
🇦🇪 UAE-$917M
🇧🇭 Bahrain-$535M
🇦🇷 Argentina-$468M
🇹🇭 Thailand-$271M
🇬🇧 UK$440M-

Mexico, South Korea, and Brazil are also among the top suppliers of steel to the United States. Meanwhile, the country imports aluminum from other key partners, including China, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Bahrain, and Argentina.

A recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) noted that the U.S. produces less than 2% of the world’s primary aluminum.

Learn More on the Voronoi App 

If you enjoyed this graphic, be sure to check out this chart illustrating the GDP impact of Trump’s tariffs on China.

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Real Assets

Charted: If Gold Was Shared Equally, How Much Would You Get?

There are 244,000 metric tons of known gold reserves. And 8 billion people. Here’s the answer to: what if gold was shared equally?

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This chart examines a hypothetical question of how much gold there is in the entire world for every person by dividing all known reserves by current global population.

Charted: If Gold Was Shared Equally, How Much Would You Get?

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Desired for millennia because of its shine and rarity, gold is still the safe haven asset (with fairly decent returns) in times of uncertainty.

This chart examines a hypothetical question of how much gold every person in the world would get if all discovered gold was shared equally.

Data for this graphic is sourced from the U.S. Geological Survey and from the UN’s World Population Prospects 2024.

There’s Not a Lot of Gold for 8 Billion People

Turns out, there really isn’t a lot of gold in the world.

To date, only 244,000 metric tons of gold have ever been discovered. This includes historical production and current known discoveries.

That works out to about 30 grams (about one troy ounce), or six gold rings, for every single human being on the planet.

CategoriesFigures
Gold Discovered
(Metric Tons)
244,000
World Population8,161,972,572
Gold per Person
(Metric Tons)
0.00002989
Gold per
Person (Grams)
29.89 (or one ounce)

Of course, jewelry isn’t the only use of gold (though it does account for the largest share of above-ground use).

Central banks have quite a bit in their reserves, with the U.S. holding the most at roughly 8,000 tonnes.

At sixth place China (2,200 tonnes) has been steadily increasing its reserves in the past year, in a bid to diversify foreign exchange reserves away from the U.S. Treasury bonds.

Largest Gold Producers

And then there’s all the gold beneath the ground, spread out in massive mines across the world. Of them, Australia is home to two in the top 10, and is also the second-largest producer.

Who’s the largest producer? That’s China—even though it doesn’t have any large mines on the same scale as those found in the U.S. and Australia. Instead it has numerous smaller ones, and coupled with efficient smelting infrastructure, ends up producing more volume.

Finally, South Africa held the top supplier spot between 1900–1970. Its production peaked at about 1,000 tonnes annually, the most by any country in a single year.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

Need even more gold graphics? Good thing we have a few. Check out: Visualizing Gold Consumption vs. Domestic Supply to see which countries use the most gold.

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