(Kitco News) - Gold’s unprecedented rise to record highs at $5,600 an ounce at the start of the year captured significant market attention, but now, with prices consolidating, one mining executive says investors should shift their focus to another metal.
Craig Parry, Chairman and CEO of Vizsla Copper Corp, said in an interview with Kitco News that copper could emerge as the standout metal in the current cycle, potentially outperforming both gold and silver this year, as structural supply constraints collide with powerful long-term demand drivers.
Parry explained that while gold continues to benefit from central bank buying and geopolitical uncertainty, copper offers the strongest upside potential due to a widening imbalance between supply and demand.
“My top pick is absolutely copper,” he said, pointing to historical precedent and a dramatically stronger macro backdrop today.
Parry noted that during the last major commodities supercycle, copper prices surged roughly sixfold, rising from about $0.70 per pound to $4.60. He argues that a similar—or even more pronounced—move could unfold this decade, driven by global electrification, the global green energy transition, and infrastructure investment.
He pointed out that, unlike the early 2000s, when Chinese urbanization fueled demand, today’s drivers are broader and more persistent, anchored by the electrification of the global economy and the infrastructure to support the evolution. He added that even with growing economic uncertainty, the underlying demand drivers remain intact, supporting copper’s long-term outlook.
At the same time, the industry faces a severe lack of new supply. Parry said that major producers are struggling just to maintain output at existing operations, while new projects face rising capital costs, permitting challenges, and long development timelines.
He estimates that roughly $200 billion in investment is needed to meet future copper demand—but there are not enough viable projects to absorb that capital.
This structural deficit underpins his long-term price outlook. While some banks forecast copper prices reaching $6 to $8 per pound, Parry believes the upside could be far greater, suggesting prices could eventually reach $20 to $30 per pound by the end of the decade if supply fails to respond.
Gold, meanwhile, remains supported by traditional safe-haven demand and central bank accumulation, he said.
Although geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East have temporarily curtailed physical demand—particularly from a region that accounts for roughly 20% of global gold consumption—Parry said he expects prices to rebound sharply once trade flows normalize.
Meanwhile, Parry said silver sits somewhere between gold and copper in the current environment, with demand from the solar sector expected to absorb a significant portion of global supply in the coming years. Like copper, he added, silver faces limited supply growth, reinforcing its bullish long-term outlook.
Despite near-term volatility driven by geopolitical tensions and shifting investor expectations, Parry said that the fundamental drivers for all three metals remain intact. He described the recent selloff across mining equities as an “extraordinary opportunity,” arguing that markets have overreacted to short-term risks while ignoring improving cash flows and strong underlying demand.
Looking ahead, Parry expects a sharp re-rating across the mining sector over the next 12 to 18 months as earnings catch up with higher metals prices and capital flows return. Investors, he said, are already positioning on the sidelines, waiting for clarity before re-entering the market.
As Parry positions copper as his top pick, Vizsla Copper is advancing its own growth strategy to capitalize on the expected supply gap. The company is executing an aggressive, multi-asset exploration program in 2026 focused on expanding its copper resource base across projects in Alaska and British Columbia. Its flagship Palmer project in Alaska remains the priority, where Vizsla plans up to 10,000 metres of drilling to expand high-grade mineralization and test new targets across the broader land package.
