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Everyone talks about EVs and renewable energy when discussing metal demand. But there’s another sector quietly competing for the same materials: defense.
And that demand is about to grow.
Copper is one of the backbone metals of modern military systems. In older naval platforms like battleships, estimates suggest roughly 200 tons of copper were used just for wiring and electrical systems, alongside thousands of tons of steel for the structure itself. Modern platforms are even more electronics-heavy. Ships, aircraft, missile systems, and radar networks all rely on dense wiring, sensors, power distribution, and data systems.
As warfare becomes more digital and autonomous, copper intensity goes up. Sensors, communications equipment, drones, AI-driven targeting systems, and electronic warfare platforms all require large amounts of conductive metal.
Some projections suggest global defense copper consumption could approach \~1 million metric tons annually by 2040 if modernization trends continue. That’s not the same scale as EV demand, but it’s large enough to matter in a tight supply environment.
Silver and gold also play critical roles. Missiles such as Tomahawks reportedly contain around 10–15 ounces of silver for high-performance electronics and conductive components. Gold is used extensively in corrosion-resistant circuitry inside radar systems, satellites, and communication hardware. These metals are not easily substituted when reliability matters.
The problem is that supply chains are fragile.
China dominates large parts of the global refining and processing capacity for many critical minerals. Western governments have started to openly acknowledge this vulnerability, particularly as defense systems grow more dependent on advanced electronics and energy systems.
Meanwhile, the same metals are being pulled in multiple directions.
Electric vehicles require large amounts of copper for motors and wiring. Renewable infrastructure uses massive volumes of copper and silver for transmission and solar installations. Data centers and AI infrastructure require increasing amounts of conductive materials for power and cooling systems.
Defense is now competing with all of those sectors.
That’s where the mining side of the equation becomes interesting. Large producing mines take years or decades to develop, and new discoveries have become rarer. As a result, a lot of the future supply pipeline sits in the hands of early-stage explorers and junior developers.
Canada, in particular, has a large number of small exploration companies targeting new copper and gold systems. These companies operate at the early end of the discovery cycle, where valuation is more tied to geology and exploration success than current metal prices.
Examples in that space include explorers and developers such as NorthIsle Copper and Gold (TSXV: NCX), Troilus Mining (TSX: TLG), Freegold Resources (TSX: FVL), and smaller explorers like NovaRed Mining Inc. (CSE: NRED / OTCQB: RBRSF) that are working on early-stage copper targets in established mining belts.
None of these companies solve the global supply gap on their own. But discoveries at the exploration stage are where future mines begin.
If defense spending rises, electrification continues, and AI infrastructure expands as projected, the demand pressure on conductive metals will likely intensify. The question then becomes whether new discoveries can keep up with that demand.
That’s why the earliest stage of the mining pipeline often ends up being the most important, and sometimes the most overlooked.