Was sent this article from a mate who works in PR for one of the...

Was sent this article from a mate who works in PR for one of the big miners. I’ve extracted the pertinent quotes from an article on broader economic issues facing Australia’s economy discussed by Orica’s highly rated CEO. Remember Orica have an excellent handle on what is going on in the mining industry as a supplier of explosives (among other things) to the majority of the world’s major mining companies including BHP and Rio. My bold.

The warning came as the easy gains to Australia's exports from the surge in China's standard of living, which had lifted demand for Australia's exports of iron ore and coal, for example, is now maturing. Its rising standard of living and expanding middle class will lift demand for copper, instead, he said.

"This optimism for the long-term copper outlook sits on the back of China's economic progress and the increasing movement of its populace into the middle class," Mr Calderon, a former senior executive with BHP, said in his address. "You can reliably track the demand from steel-making commodities such as iron ore and coking coal, to more consumer product inputs such as copper and aluminium, by looking at GDP per capital. Demand for copper plateaus much later in the industrialisation cycle, compared with the bulk commodities.

"Steel intensity tapers off when GDP per capita reaches around the $US15,000 level (on a purchasing power parity basis), while copper demand keeps growing until GDP per capita hits between $US30,000 and $US40,000. China accounts for around 45 per cent of global refined copper demand, and by the end of 2015, its GDP per capita was around $US14,450. Gold has similar market dynamics to copper."

http://www.smh.com.au/business/aust...ancy-boss-of-orica-warns-20170523-gwb4tl.html