He says: “I genuinely don't see where all of this copper is going to come from at this point in time.”
Namibia is one of the copper-producing and exporting countries, and yearly ships out billions of Namibia dollars worth of copper.
Last year alone, exports were at N$5,6 billion, and made up 8,9% of what the country exported.
According to a Bloomberg report, Wanblad said this expected shortage of copper would be worse as new mines become increasingly difficult to build.
The copper price has slumped in recent months as inflationary fears hit Western markets, and China's demand was curbed by sweeping Covid-19 controls, but many investors remain bullish on the longer-term picture.
The metal, which hit a record above US$10 000 a tonne earlier this year, is an essential part of the world's efforts to decarbonise, and new supply is constrained globally.
Bloomberg reported that nearly all the biggest miners are looking to expand their copper production: Rio Tinto Group is trying to buy out Turquoise Hill Resources to increase its exposure to a giant mine in Mongolia, and is also seeking to develop a huge copper mine in the United States.
Top miner BHP Group has evaluated some of its biggest rivals, as well as looked at new projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“There are lots of copper resources in the world, and I think those resources could be brought to book, but the length of time it takes is completely underappreciated by the market,” said Wanblad.
He said he is not certain when the world is going to wake up to it, “but I suspect it will be sooner rather than later”.
Wanblad took over as Anglo American CEO earlier this year, replacing Mark Cutifani.
Namibia's mining inventory shows 15 exclusive prospective licences have been issued to several copper explorers, including Trans-Kalahari Copper Namibia, which holds many of them.
Recently, the Mining Review reported that Sandfire Resources is to purchase 100% of the issued capital in Trans-Kalahari Copper Namibia (TKC), the wholly owned subsidiary of Kopore Metals which holds Namibian exploration properties.
Sandfire will pay an upfront consideration of US$1 million in cash and US$1 million in Sandfire shares, calculated on Sandfire's five-day VWAP at closing.
Email: lazarus@namibian.com.na
Twitter: @Lasarus_A
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