Conflict in the Middle East threatens 20 per cent of world copper production due to disrupted raw material flows and higher costs across a supply chain ranging from Africa through China to South America, a Chinese state-owned metals company’s research institute has warned.

As leading hubs for hydrometallurgical copper production, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile were highly exposed to the supply shock, the China Minmetals Economic Research Institute said in a report issued on Tuesday.

It said disruptions to sulphur shipments resulting from the US-Israeli war on Iran had crippled the production of sulphuric acid, a vital reagent for copper leaching operations.

Hydrometallurgical copper accounted for one-fifth of the world’s supply of the metal, the report said.

Given its role as a key industrial metal, copper is often viewed as a bellwether for the global economy. It is also the primary conductor in integrated circuits, making it essential for high-performance computing and energy-efficient devices.

The Strait of Hormuz, which Iran and the United States have blockaded, accounted for about 50 per cent of the global seaborne sulphur trade and its closure had pushed sulphuric acid prices up 55 per cent, Goldman Sachs said in a research note issued on April 21.

The report from the institute, part of China Minmetals – one of the world’s largest metals and minerals traders – said it anticipated a delayed impact.