Almost all electronic devices rely on circuit boards, and today's semiconductors are no exception. It is expected that the demand for semiconductors will further increase, especially considering the speed of data center construction. This also means that the demand for resources required for manufacturing chips is increasing.  

Even now, these resources are not always readily available, and it is expected that the situation will deteriorate in the future. Analysts from PwC recently warned in a report titled 'Climate Change Threatens the World's Most Critical Technologies' that one-third of global semiconductor supply could be negatively impacted by climate change in the next decade. PwC stated that although people have insufficient awareness of this, one of the driving factors behind it may be the obstruction of copper mining caused by water scarcity.

Water is crucial for open-pit copper mining. Water is used for dust suppression, ore processing (depending on the specific method), and cooling of factories and machinery. Producing one ton of copper may require over 8 million gallons of water; On average, mines require about 26400 gallons of water per day. It should be noted that these waters are all freshwater.   Copper is crucial for the production of modern microchips, especially for the most intricate wiring structures within semiconductors. However, copper mines are highly dependent on water resources, and ironically, due to drought in the most important mining areas, water resources are becoming increasingly scarce.   Even today, all copper supplies listed as threatened by semiconductor production come from Chile. Chile has been repeatedly affected by extreme droughts, partly due to weather phenomena such as El Ni ñ o and La Ni ñ a. Due to the fact that most of Chile's copper mining is located in the arid Atacama Desert region in the north, the La Ni ñ a phenomenon will significantly exacerbate water scarcity there. Even in El Ni ñ o years with high rainfall, the supply of copper is difficult to predict and unstable.

By 2035, another ten copper producing countries, including China, the United States, Peru, and Australia, may also be considered at risk in terms of copper supply unaffected by climate change. In the most pessimistic scenario, by 2050, only three countries (Papua New Guinea, Panama, and Indonesia) will be able to supply copper under relatively stable climate conditions.  According to PwC's analysis, the global semiconductor production share relying on these threatened copper mines could rise to 32% by 2035, and in the worst case scenario, even reach 58% by 2050. Currently, alternative materials such as graphene or silver are considered economically unfeasible. It is evident that without ensuring the supply of copper, one of the most critical industries globally will face significant bottlenecks.

Therefore, PwC suggests taking specific measures: copper mines can reduce water consumption through new processes such as recycling, tailings drying management, or relying on seawater desalination. In Chile, by 2020, the proportion of copper mines using seawater will increase to about 22% and show an upward trend. These seawater desalination plants are particularly suitable for areas with severe scarcity of freshwater resources, such as the Atacama Desert.   At the same time, the proportion of circulating water is constantly increasing. In the mines of major operators in Chile, such as Codelco, the utilization rate of recycled water in some mines has exceeded 70%, mainly achieved through closed-loop treatment systems.   Semiconductor manufacturers should simultaneously improve material efficiency, use recycled copper, and promote regional diversification of their supply chains. The report clearly states that in the long run, climate change is not only an ecological challenge, but also a geopolitical risk lever for technological sovereignty.