Charleston Startup Mines Copper From Trash, Not Earth

The world is running out of copper right when we need it most, but a Charleston startup just found millions of tons of it hiding in our trash.

Red Metals is building America's urban mining industry by extracting copper from old motors, electronics, and scrap metal. It's a simple idea that could solve a massive problem: by 2040, copper demand will jump 50% while supply drops, leaving us 10 million metric tons short.

Founder Jackson Switzer spotted the opportunity while working at battery recycling giant Redwood Materials. He watched mountains of copper-rich products get tossed aside while prices climbed to record highs. "Copper is used absolutely everywhere," Switzer says. "It's so critical to nearly everything."

The numbers tell the story. Right now, we only recover about half the copper from old products. The rest ends up in landfills even as copper futures jumped 38% this year. Meanwhile, a single data center needs 50,000 tons of copper just for cooling and power systems.

Traditional mining can't keep up. Indonesia's biggest copper mine won't reach full production until 2028 after a deadly accident. Congo shut down a major operation after wastewater flooded neighborhoods and poisoned farms. Chile's mines face earthquakes and strikes. China banned exports of sulfuric acid, a key mining ingredient, after Middle East supply chains broke down.

America currently ships scrap overseas for refining, then ships the finished copper back. Switzer calls it "extremely inefficient." His solution keeps everything local, turning waste into supply without digging a single new mine.

The timing couldn't be better. Electric cars need four times more copper than gas vehicles. Home heat pumps, air conditioners, and solar panels all depend on it. And the AI boom is creating unprecedented demand as tech companies build massive data centers across the country.

The Ripple Effect

Urban mining does more than close supply gaps. It eliminates the environmental damage of traditional mining, from habitat destruction to water pollution. It creates manufacturing jobs in American cities instead of relying on fragile global supply chains. And it proves that yesterday's trash can power tomorrow's clean energy revolution.

Every old motor and circuit board contains the exact material we're desperately mining from deeper, more remote locations. Red Metals is showing us we've been sitting on the solution all along.