Mining Copper's Second Life

As telecom shifts to fibre, copper recycling emerges as a challenge and an opportunity, promising new revenue streams amid increasing demand for the metal.

- PRATIMA HARIGUNANI

Let us start with a question from a chemistry textbook. What is the parking spot of a superb thermal and electrical conductivity metal, aka copper or Cu (Cuprum), in the Periodic table?

While you jog your memory for that answer, you may also reflect on some not-so-distant news items. In the US, a carrier, Windstream's Kinetic, had announced a USD 10,000 award for information related to copper thefts in Clay County, Kentucky. Apparently, 66 copper thefts were noted in the US in 2024. In a similar situation, Verizon had made a USD 10,000 offer related to information on thieves in Pennsylvania. Not far away was AT&T, which, in 2023, proffered a USD 40,000 grant to the San Joaquin County law enforcement for monitoring copper theft.

Yes, copper is being stolen in a big way, not just from electrical substations, statues, and lonely homes in the US but also from cellular towers and telephone landlines in India. Here, we have heard of numerous theft reports from telecom towers and, sometimes, of towers. There has been a significant escalation in thefts of essential telecommunications equipment, particularly Remote Radio Units (RRUS) and Baseband Units (BBUs) in 2023. Regions like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi NCR, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana have been affected significantly.

You are not alone if you are scratching your head at this weird pattern worldwide. Consider this: As per the Market Data Forecast, the global recycled copper market was valued at USD 252.64 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 270.58 billion by 2024 and USD 468.39 billion by 2032.

Also, observe this. The industry is going through a major overhaul with optical fibre cables. They offer high bandwidth, better capacity, low latency, high insulation from interference, and stronger coverage for 5G. They also reduce signal loss and help in network densification.