Digging up billions worth of copper telecom cables

Telecommunications companies could mine 800 000 tonnes of copper from old cables by 2035, according to UK firm TXO.

The switch to fibre optic cables is opening up a new source of copper scrap worth around EUR 6.3 billion.

‘We’ve got all of this material, sitting redundant. It’s an enormous commercial opportunity,’ comments David Evans, who runs asset recovery at TXO. At current prices, he believes profit can exceed 30%, even after processing costs.

The engineering services company is currently working with BT Group. Evans tells Bloomberg his team is in talks with a dozen other telecom providers concerning copper recovery.

BT Group subsidiary, Openreach Ltd., estimates it can reclaim up to 200 000 tons of copper over the next fifteen years. ‘Recovering the copper cables generates a net income, even after the costs of extracting the cables and processing them,’ a spokesperson notes.