A conventional data center uses between 5,000 and 15,000 tons of copper. A hyperscale data center, on the other hand — the kind being built to run artificial intelligence (AI) — can require up to 50,000 tons of copper per facility, according to the Copper Development Association.
Think about that for a second. A single AI data center that uses more copper than three conventional facilities combined.
That’s why I think the AI story is about much more than just raw compute power. It also involves electrical infrastructure at a scale we’ve never seen before. And these massive facilities have an insatiable appetite for copper.
It’s not hard to see why the red metal has been on fire in 2025. It hit a record high Dec. 5, surging past $11,705 per metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, an increase of 32 percent from the start of the year. (And if you think that’s impressive, consider that gold, silver and copper are all reaching new all-t
