'New paradigm' for metals: Coppernico Metals' Ivan Bebek on why copper can run further

Ivan Bebek, Founder, Director, Chair, and CEO of Coppernico Metals, joins host Michael McCrae on Mining Stock Daily from the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference to unpack what he calls a “new paradigm” for metals markets. With gold pushing record highs and copper trading near historic levels, Bebek argues the sector is still in the early innings of a powerful, multi-year bull market—particularly for copper.

Bebek explains why surging demand from electrification, AI data centers, infrastructure modernization, and electric vehicles is colliding with a tight global copper supply. New discoveries are scarce, existing mines are aging and declining in grade, and building new copper mines now takes decades due to massive capital requirements, social and permitting challenges, and logistical bottlenecks. Money alone, he says, can’t solve the problem—time is the real constraint.

The conversation also explores why M&A is poised to accelerate as major miners, flush with cash and higher share prices, look to replace depleting reserves. Bebek discusses Coppernico’s strategy of chasing higher-grade copper targets and why major miners like Newmont and Teck are already shareholders.

Touching on lessons from past bull markets, cost inflation risks, and the importance of grade, Bebek makes a compelling case that copper prices have much further to run—and that discoveries, not capital, will ultimately define the winners in this cycle.