The pandemic hasn’t damped deal-making enthusiasm in copper. In fact, interest -- if not actual deals -- is on the rise, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. investment banker-turned-mining executive Hayden Locke.

“I feel like there’s more going on because corporate development teams can’t travel -- they have more time on their hands to review what’s going on in the market,” Locke, the recently appointed president of explorer Marimaca Copper Corp., said in an interview. “I don’t know if that will translate into execution, but copper is very hot.”

Prices of the metal used in wiring have surged to two-year highs as producers struggle to keep up with strong demand in China. Longer-term prospects are buoyed by a lack of new discoveries and global electrification, including the shift toward electric vehicles. All that means copper is considered a green metal and big mining companies want more of it in their portfolios, Locke said.

http://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/hot-copper-is-attracting-plenty-of-deal-buzz-executive-says-1.1482330