Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1392944
30 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2021 segment has to offer in the fu- ture. It is more attractive as a newer segment than what printed circuit boards have been historically, and we hear there is conversion of existing capacity for PCB applications going into LIB. Johnson: Let's start with how most of your copper comes through the process of recy- cling. Coll: We start with bare bright number one copper, which comes from end runs from wire mills and recycled industri- al wire. It can be wire that was harvested out of buildings during remodels or from downed power lines—virtually any copper wire that is used for electrical transmission. We dissolve the wire in sulfuric acid to create the electro- lyte used for plating the copper foil into con- tinuous rolls. We are the only ED foil maker in the U.S., so we are not competing against other foil makers; the same copper we use is also recy- cled into rolled copper, new wire, and tub- ing for plumbing. In terms of recycled copper demand, we have lots of competition. One of the areas increasing demand on copper wire is infrastructure build-out, and not just relat- ed to electronics, but to new home and build- ing construction. We have heard of shortages in traditional Romex wire and cable for new home construction, as well as other large mu- nicipal investments. As we emerge from CO- VID and the overall economy grows, multiple industries will additionally strain the supply base. As I mentioned, there is not a lack of sup- ply, but the demand is certainly forcing an in- crease on copper price. Johnson: When lay people like me think about copper production, we naturally think about more mining. Where is the greatest potential to help increase our supply of copper into the overall mar- ket? Is there more potential for recycling? Or do we have to mine significantly more to add to the supply? Coll: We do have some lon- ger-term concerns when considering the astronomical growth projections for elec- tric vehicles. is will have an incredible impact on the copper market as there are requirements for copper foil for the batteries, charging cables, and the in- frastructure for charging stations. is will re- quire more copper to be mined worldwide. We understand there was quite a bit of dif- ficulty last summer with some of the larger mines in Chile having worker issues due to the health and safety requirements related to the pandemic. Production appears to be return- ing to pre-pandemic levels, but to increase the capacity at a copper mine is a multiple-year ef- fort. Additionally, some of the large mines re- port that the quality of ore is not as rich as it used to be, resulting in reduced output. We are concerned longer-term, especially, with the market projections which require dou- bling or tripling the amount of copper use an- nually to meet global needs for infrastructure improvements, in addition to growth in PCBs and EVs. We just do not know where all the copper is going to come from. We are very interested in the concept Tes- la has proposed: recycling all the components from old batteries to build new ones. Once the EV industry is at a steady state of battery pro- duction, this would be ideal. However, we are years away from steady state, so it appears that in the future a supply constraint will be inevi- table. Johnson: ere must be pressure on manufac- turers such as yourselves to respond to the de- Michael Coll