COVID-19 Has Sparked A Copper Boom

*This is not financial advice. All content should be considered opinionated. We are not responsible for any of your gains and losses. I am neither a licensed or registered financial expert. Please see a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

COVID-19 is a disease that has affected the world like no other disease. A shutdown of worldwide travel, many businesses being forced to either have their employees work from home or shut down, an unemployment rate that was larger than the Great Depression, and a mass death happening worldwide. Way of life has changed for many people with things like mask-wearing and social isolation becoming a new norm. 

The virus has shown us the many weak points our society has. A virus, which originated in China, spread so rapidly that we all had to be germaphobes to protect ourselves. The rampant spread of the virus sparks a need for finding ways to reduce the number of germs we have on our surfaces as much as possible. 

One way of doing that is by making our surfaces copper. 

We need copper more than ever

Copper has been known to be a metal that kills germs. Because of that, many doorknobs are made of copper. From a microbiologist's view, whenever bacteria or a virus comes in contact with copper, it looks like the cells explode, reinforcing the belief that copper kills diseases.

Photo by Alex Plesovskich on Unsplash

Copper's Role in History

In ancient times, many people believed that copper kills disease. That's why the Ancient Indians drank from copper cups since they believed that it would protect them from any diseases. On a side note, because they kept that tradition for decades and centuries, their population today is really large. 

The industrial revolution changed everything for the way we used copper. No longer did we use copper as materials for personal items. During the industrial revolution, copper was widely used for the innovations but they were being phased out in favor of cheaper materials due to the huge demand for housing. Plastics, tempered glass, aluminum, and stainless steel became the materials that we've become surrounded by. And due to the nature of those materials, bacteria and viruses are able to live on those surfaces for a long time. 

That increased our daily exposure to germs by a big factor.

Copper has a bigger role in the modern world

With the second wave of COVID-19 happening around the world, this virus is looking relentless to the world. We can't keep using disposable wipes to clean surfaces. Plus, the virus could make a third comeback and a fourth come back later on. We can't succumb to the virus until a vaccine is made. Solutions are needed to prevent diseases from making a comeback as soon as possible. 

By covering our surfaces with copper, we can drastically reduce the spread of diseases as studies have shown that copper surfaces do kill bacteria. Also, studies have shown that copper surfaces do kill viruses as well. 

Some might be wondering if it is worth spending a lot to cover surfaces with copper. According to a study, when hospitals have doorknobs, armchairs, and other surfaces covered with copper, infection rates in those hospitals drop significantly. There are even studies that find that implementing copper surfaces in pediatric centers reduces infection rates significantly. Many studies have been made to support the thesis that copper surfaces do reduce the spread of viruses and bacteria by a huge factor.  

Conclusion

People around the world will get tired of the prevalence of diseases. COVID-19 already changed people's lives drastically. Other diseases will continue to come and bring similar effects to our economy and to our health. By implementing copper on many of our surfaces, we will have an easier time going back and maintaining normality in society. 

If governments around the world do encourage hospitals, homeowners, and others to have their surfaces covered with copper, then this will create a lot of demand for copper. While copper prices are low, a movement where many will want their surfaces covered with copper will help copper prices recover from their lows and potentially create a new bull market for copper as the metal becomes more widely used and in the end becomes more scare since copper is a limited resource. 

Other Catalysts

Plus, there are other catalysts for copper. With energy demand rising each year, demand for copper will increase as copper will be used to produce electric vehicles, batteries, energy transmission infrastructure, renewable energy facilities, etc. Also, as demand for electronics rises, demand will copper will increase as well. Think of all the semiconductors and smartphones that use copper. Even the gadgets used for smart homes require a lot of copper. There are so many catalysts for copper.

When comparing all the catalysts, COVID-19 looks to become the biggest catalyst for copper prices.