Huge copper deposits have been discovered in Poland, and they present an opportunity for the country — and even all of Europe — to benefit from a resource seen as vital to the artificial intelligence and green tech revolution.
A recent report from experts at EY and Lumina Metals has revealed a significant discovery of copper deposits in Poland, potentially the largest in Europe in over 70 years. The research indicates that there are deposits totaling 165 million tons in the country.
Crucially, up to 98 million tons of this raw material lie at depths that allow for economically profitable exploitation, a finding that could elevate Poland to the status of a copper superpower, according to a report from Polish news outlet Do Rzeczy.
As experts point out, starting mining operations is still a long-term prospect. Further field research is required to fully confirm and document the discovered deposits. However, both investors and employees of the National Geological Institute-National Research Institute (PIG-PIB) remain optimistic about the findings.
The potential economic impact is vast: exploiting these newly discovered deposits could guarantee copper availability for the domestic market for the next 300 years. Furthermore, it could supply the entire European Union’s import needs for 60 years.
Copper is a vital raw material. Besides artificial intelligence, the resource is also essential for weapons production and green technologies. A report from UNCTAD suggests that global demand for copper may increase by over 40 percent by 2040.
The market context for this discovery is one of increasing copper value. According to Michał Stajniak, deputy director of the XTB Analysis Department, the price of copper may continue to rise toward historical peaks if a disaster impacts one of the market’s largest mines, potentially creating a raw material deficit.
Stajniak shared his market perspective in a recent conversation with ISBnews:
“Apart from the precious metals market, it is worth paying attention to copper, the price of which already reaches significantly above €10,000 per ton. Copper prices reacted strongly to the disaster at the mine in Indonesia, which caused copper mining there to drop to almost zero. It is the second-largest copper mine in the world, responsible for approximately 2%-3% of all global supply. This situation may lead to the market, which was still in slight oversupply, experiencing a deficit in 2025,” Stajniak told ISBnews.
