Two Australian companies are confident that copper prices will continue to set records, with the red metal reaching a new high of $US10,724.50 ($13,682) on the London Metal Exchange (LME) overnight.

The red metal’s previous all-time high was recorded on May 7, where it reached $US10,361.

Junior explorers Kincora Copper and QMines started trading on the ASX in March and May, respectively, with both companies aiming to develop their copper assets.

QMines executive chairman Andrew Sparke said 11 straight months of decreased copper supply in Chile and COVID-19-related labour issues in South America have raised demand.

“The amount of copper we need to green the world is enormous,” he told Australian Mining.

“Where all this copper supply is going to come from is certainly yet to be determined. That backdrop is causing declining investors on the LME.

“It’s a really nice environment to be a copper explorer or company transition into copper development.”

Copper has been in high demand due to increases in economic stimulus from COVID-19.

Strained supply of the commodity has driven the copper price upwards, off the back of economic stimulus spending and copper’s importance in clean energy technology.

Sparke said ageing mines in South America, a country that has historically been a major supplier of the red metal, caused resources to be harder to extract as mines were forced to go deeper underground.“My view is demand will increase when supply is quite challenged. That is supported by many groups – Goldman Sachs is expecting a 600-900 per cent increase in copper demand until 2030,” he said.

QMines is developing its copper projects in Queensland, with its ASX listing aiming to fund a large exploration program at its Mt Chalmers copper-gold mine, a historic site that was operated between 1898 and 1982.

Its existing inferred resource is 3.9 million tonnes at 1.15 per cent copper and 0.81 grams per tonne of gold.

“In terms of unlocking value, we’re going to use those proceeds from the capital raised to roll out an exploration program that has an aim of increasing the resource,” Sparke said.

Kincora Copper president and chief executive officer Sam Spring said the push for decarbonisation and stimulus packages has increased copper demand.

“It’s a tailwind for the junior sector,” he told Australian Mining. “The improving copper price increases investor sentiment and that filters down to the junior miners who increase exploration with brownfield and greenfield projects.”

Kincora Copper has assets both in Australia and Mongolia, with the company listed on the ASX and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

Spring said copper was vital to a clean energy future due to its conductive properties.

“One thing about copper is that it’s the most cost-effective means to conduct electricity, both powering the vehicle, and getting power to the charging point. The shift from carbon cars to electric vehicles will see an increase in copper demand,” he said.

“It’s the same narrative for energy use at home from traditional power to solar and the likes. The foundation for this move in copper price has been in place for quite some time.”

Lynas Corporation has signalled the start of development of its Kalgoorlie rare earths processing plant in Western Australia by awarding a contract to Metso Outotec.

The newly-merged company will supply the processing plant’s kiln – the largest and longest lead time piece of equipment required for Lynas’ operation.

The contract for the kiln, which measures 110 metres and weighs 1500 tonnes, will fetch around $US15 million ($21.6 million) for Metso Outotec. It will involve discharge housing, combustion chamber and burner, motor control stations and delivery to Kalgoorlie.

Metso Outotec will manufacture the kiln according to Lynas’ design. It will be an improvement to the four 60-metre kilns currently in operation at the Lynas Malaysia plant.

“The kiln is the longest lead time item for our Kalgoorlie project and placing this order is an important milestone in the development of our new processing plant in Kalgoorlie,” Lynas chief executive and managing director Amanda Lacaze said.

“We are making good progress on the project, and we look forward to working with Metso Outotec on the engineering and supply of the kiln.”

Metso Outotec plans to commence work on the kiln immediately, with components to be manufactured in Australia and Europe.

“We are excited having been selected by Lynas as a key supplier for the development of its significant greenfield project in Western Australia,” Metso president – mining equipment, Stephan Kirsch said.

“The Metso rotary kiln system forms an integral part for the processing of rare earths.”

The Kalgoorlie rare earths processing plant earned major project status from the Australian Government earlier this year.

It will undertake cracking and leaching of rare earth concentrate from Lynas’ Mt Weld mine in Western Australia’s Goldfields region.

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Three types of lime products are produced in Australia, including aglime, quick lime and hydrated lime.

There are good signs for Australia’s limestone segment, with the lime market expected to exceed $USD339.5 billion ($AUD510.8 billion) by 2027, according to a report by Coherent Market Insights.

An increase to lime’s demand in the agriculture and the steel industries is expected to drive profits up in the coming years.

“The Australia lime market was estimated to account for $USD290 billion ($436 billion) in terms of value in 2018 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 1.7 per cent during the forecast period (2019 to 2027),” the report stated.

Lime – or calcium hydroxide – is produced by heating limestone, and has widespread use across construction, industrial, chemical, environmental and metallurgical sectors.

Australia produces three types of lime products, including aglime (agricultural lime), quick lime and hydrated lime.

The steel industry, which contributes upwards of $16 billion to Australia’s GDP, requires lime for its activities.

While the nation faces a drop in construction activity, the use of lime in agriculture is expected to keep the market growing.

On basis of product type, in 2018, aglime accounted for the largest market share of 52.4 percent, with 778.5 kilotonnes, in terms of volume, the report stated.

“This is mainly due to increase in demand for aglime in farms as it is used to counter the high acidic content in soil and neutralise its pH factor to avoid any toxic contamination in plants.”

Major players in the Australian lime market include ADBRI (Adelaide Brighton), Boral, Sibelco, Omya Australia, Wagners and Lime Group Australia. New South Wales has the nation’s largest market share of lime at 31.3 per cent in 2018, with volumes predicted to reach 410.5 kilotonnes by the end of 2027.