Agenda

• China’s role as the anchor of global copper demand • Shift in Chinese demand from construction toward grids, electrification, semis exports and AI infrastructure • Why current copper prices are testing both consumers and producers • Why the market is increasingly focused on supply execution

• What current benchmark negotiations reveal about concentrate scarcity • Whether zero or negative benchmark terms are now structurally possible • How annual benchmark terms differ from spot market realities • How pricing mechanisms are evolving beyond the annual benchmark • Can one annual benchmark still represent today’s copper concentrates market?

• Why concentrate tightness remains extreme • Can disrupted mines recover quickly enough to change the market? • Why higher copper prices still aren’t delivering enough new supply • Whether the market is underestimating the persistence of feed shortages

• Will sulphuric acid remain a key differentiator for smelters? • Middle East disruption and implications for sulphur flows • How China’s evolving scrap market is reshaping refined copper • Can secondary raw materials offset primary market constraints? • Which secondary factors deserve more attention from copper market participants?

• Why ex-US inventories matter more than headline global stocks • How China’s buying is reshaping regional cathode and concentrate availability • How US imports and policy have changed flow patterns • Why the market feels tighter than the global balance suggests • Why where copper sits now matters more than how much exists

• How hedge funds, CTAs and macro investors are influencing copper prices • The role of liquidity, rates, the dollar and risk sentiment • US stockbuilding, tariff expectations and the distortion of visible inventories • Why exchange spreads now matter more than outright prices? • When financial pricing disconnects from physical fundamentals • Has financial buying pushed prices beyond physical reality?

• Have we reached the price where demand starts to react? • How high copper prices affect terminal demand in China and globally • The impact on electrification economics and energy transition efficiency • Risks of aluminium substitution, thrifting and delayed adoption • Whether current prices threaten future demand credibility

• Grid buildout as the main enabling demand driver • Will AI become as important for copper as EVs? • Transformers, cables and power equipment bottlenecks • EVs and charging systems in the next phase of copper intensity • Can AI and the energy transition continue to drive copper demand through a weaker economic cycle

• Why strong prices still do not guarantee new mine approvals • Brownfield versus greenfield economics • Partnerships, phased developments and capital efficiency • Investor expectations versus project reality • What will finally unlock the next generation of copper mines?

• Will concentrate tightness remain the dominant driver? • Will financial flows amplify or reverse current prices? • Can China sustain strong cathode demand at elevated prices? • What happens if high prices begin to suppress terminal demand? • Which indicator will be the most important to watch as the market moves into 2027?