Feng Huang Wang·2026-01-15 22:44Group 1 - Mining giant Rio Tinto announced a two-year agreement to supply copper extracted using leaching technology to Amazon for its AI data centers, highlighting the increasing competition for critical mineral resources in the AI industry [1] - Analysts predict that the expansion of the AI industry will drive global copper demand up by 50% by 2040, while supply may not keep pace, leading companies to secure resources in advance [1] - The copper produced through Rio Tinto's Nuton technology will come from the Gunnison Copper mine, although financial terms and specific supply volumes of the agreement were not disclosed [1] Group 2 - The London Metal Exchange (LME) copper price has risen above $13,000 per ton, with a cumulative increase of approximately 40% over the past year, driven by surging demand from AI data centers and tightening global supply [2] - The copper produced from the Nuton project will only meet a small fraction of Amazon's needs, as a single large data center requires tens of thousands of tons of copper for electrical components [2] - Rio Tinto's Nuton project is expected to produce 14,000 tons of cathode copper over the next four years, which is insufficient to support the construction needs of a large data center [2]