800,000 tons of mud may make electronics more expensive • The Register

In recent years technology buyers have endured hardware price rises due to a pandemic and its impact on supply chains, the global wave of inflation that followed, tariffs, and surging demand for AI technologies that allowed vendors to charge higher prices. Now, 800,000 tons of mud has pushed copper prices higher.

The mud slid into the Grasberg Block Cave mine (GBC) in Indonesia, the source of around three percent of the world’s copper. Two people died in the September 8th accident, and five remain missing. The mine’s operator, Freeport-McMoRan, suspended operations at the mine, and yesterday advised that while the incident only impacted one of the production blocks at the mine, it also damaged other infrastructure at the site. The company therefore thinks its Q4 sales of copper and gold w