Anglo American and Teck Forge $53 Billion Copper Behemoth to Ride AI’s Insatiable Demand Wave

Two mining titans just placed the biggest bet on silicon's future rival.

The Copper Crunch

AI data centers are hungry—and they don't run on hype alone. Behind every large language model and deep learning algorithm sits a staggering need for conductive metal. Cue the megadeal.

Anglo American and Teck are merging operations to create a $53 billion copper giant. This isn't just expansion; it's an arms race for the elemental backbone of artificial intelligence.

Wall Street analysts are already calling it a 'forward-looking infrastructure play'—which roughly translates to 'we didn't see this coming, but we'll pretend we did.'

The new entity will control mines across the Americas, positioning itself as the go-to supplier for tech giants scrambling to secure their wiring futures.

Because when AI goes mainstream, copper isn't just a commodity—it's the new oil. And just like oil, you can expect the financiers to take their cut long before the first wire gets spun.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Anglo American has struck a deal to buy Canada’s Teck Resources, creating a $53 billion copper giant at a time when electricity demand by data centers to feed the AI boom is soaring.
• Copper prices have climbed about 15% since the start of the year, but have come off record highs after President Donald Trump’s 50% import levies on the metal kicked in at the start of August.
• Shareholders of Anglo American will own around 62.4% of Anglo Teck while the Canadian firm’s shareholders will have roughly 37.6%.

Anglo American has struck a deal to buy Canada’s Teck Resources, creating a $53 billion copper giant at a time when electricity demand by data centers to feed the AI boom is soaring.

Anglo Teck, the name of the merged company,  will “offer more than 70% copper exposure” and be headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, the companies said. Its primary listing will be London though it will also be traded in New York, Johannesburg and Toronto. 

Copper prices have risen by around 15% this year on the back of not just demand for electricity to power AI data centers but also to meet the power needs of the transition to renewable energy, including for electric vehicles.  Prices for the metal commonly used in electrical wiring have come off record highs fueled by pre-tariff buying, however,  after President Donald Trump’s 50% import levies on the metal kicked in at the start of August.

As part of the merger announced Tuesday, shareholders of Anglo American will own around 62.4% of Anglo Teck while the Canadian firm’s shareholders will have roughly 37.6%. The companies said they expect the deal to be completed in around 12-18 months, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, though the boards of both have green lit the deal.

Both companies have rejected bigger acquirers in recent years. Anglo, which is listed in both London and Johannesburg and has a market cap of around $36 billion, turned down an around $50 billion offer from Australian mining giant BHP Group (BHP) last year.  Teck, which is valued at $17 billion, rejected a $23 billion bid by Glencore in 2023 though it sold its steelmaking coal business to the Swiss commodities trading firm the following year.