Data centre growth is set to increase copper demand. Image: Sepia100/stock.adobe.com
The planned development of a $10 billion data centre in Victoria’s Gippsland region has highlighted the rapid growth of Australia’s data centre sector and, with it, the skyrocketing demand for the critical minerals such as copper that are required to support that expansion.
Singaporean asset manager and operator Keppel Ltd is proposing a 720-megawatt facility on a 123-hectare site, positioning the project as potentially one of the largest artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure developments in Australia.
Located in the heart of Victoria’s historic coal region, the site sits close to one of the state’s largest electricity nodes and has been zoned to allow data centre development. It also benefits from existing water infrastructure and proximity to intercity dark fibre networks, enabling high-performance connectivity to Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.
The expansion of large-scale data infrastructure is intensifying demand for critical minerals and metals, particularly copper, which underpins power transmission, cooling systems, cabling, electronics and grid infrastructure.
As AI technologies scale and data centres proliferate, their material footprint is increasing, making the sector an emerging structural driver of long-term copper demand alongside electrification, renewable energy and electric vehicle adoption.
According to Goldman Sachs, AI is expected to drive a 165 per cent increase in data centre power demand by 2030, almost doubling today’s installed base. Analysts estimate that every additional megawatt of data centre capacity embeds demand for tens of tonnes of metals and minerals.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has also pointed to the growing copper intensity of data centre and grid infrastructure build-outs.
“Estimates suggest over 4.3 million tonnes of copper could be associated with data centres and adjacent power infrastructure by 2035,” the WEF said. “Industry outlooks warn of a 25–30 per cent copper shortfall by 2035, underscoring long-term exposure as facility and grid demand rise together.”
This backdrop is feeding directly into the strategies of the world’s largest mining companies, with copper increasingly central to growth plans.
BHP has made no secret of its ambition to become the world’s leading copper producer this century, with its South Australian copper expansion providing a clear signal of intent.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto’s mooted deal with Glencore has been framed by many analysts as a copper-driven move aimed at reshaping the global supply landscape.
A recent agreement for Rio Tinto to supply low-carbon copper – using processing technology developed by Melbourne-based company Nuton – to Amazon Web Services data centres in the US provides a timely example of the commercial opportunities emerging as data infrastructure and mining converge.
But it is not only the Tier 1 miners that stand to benefit.
Copper-focused companies such as Sandfire Resources, 29Metals and Aeris Resources are also positioned to capitalise on the data centre boom.
In its latest quarterly report, Sandfire announced it had signed a binding term sheet with Havilah Resources to advance the Kalkaroo copper-gold project and establish an alliance to explore the highly prospective Curnamona Province copper belt.
Sandfire said the agreements provide a pathway to unlock one of Australia’s largest undeveloped open-pit copper-gold deposits, with the potential to replicate its successful entry into the world-class Kalahari copper belt in southern Africa.
29Metals’ two core Australian operations also continue to advance. The company’s Golden Grove mine in Western Australia produces copper alongside zinc, gold and silver, with recent high-grade drilling lifting confidence in mine-life extension and resource growth across multiple deposits. In Queensland, Capricorn Copper is a high-grade underground copper-silver operation progressing toward a phased restart following dewatering works.
Aeris Resources has likewise been riding strong copper market momentum, underpinned by exploration success at its flagship Tritton project. High-grade discoveries and thick mineralisation have expanded target areas and reinforced confidence in the operation’s long-term growth potential.
As data centres drive the global digital economy, their growing appetite for power and materials is reshaping long-term demand profiles for key commodities. For Australia’s copper sector – from Tier 1 producers to emerging mid-tier miners – the convergence of AI, energy infrastructure and critical minerals presents a compelling new growth frontier.
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