COPPER

This fits the 'electrification bottleneck' narrative: AI data centers, grid buildout, EVs, and defense electrification are all copper-intensive, and new greenfield mines take 10-15 years to permit and build. Biomining (bioleaching/ bio-oxidation) is a capital-light way to extract value from low-grade ores, tailings, and waste streams — effectively a 'yield farming' strategy for miners. It's a long-cycle supply response, not a demand catalyst.

Copper

Some companies are turning to biomining, using microbes to extract metals, to boost global copper supply amid growing electricity demand.

Copper Miners Lean on Microbes as Supply Crunch Meets Surging Power Demand

Biomining's real crypto play: stranded energy sites become copper mines, turning wasted gas into hashrate-adjacent revenue and pressuring Bitcoin's energy narrative.