This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner Purecore Metals. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.
The rapid expansion of AI, data centres, electrification, and clean energy is creating a common challenge: the world needs substantially more electricity, and building the infrastructure to deliver it requires substantially more raw materials.
For Purecore Metals (CSE:PURE), copper and uranium sit near the centre of that equation.
According to CEO Peter Berdusco, the mismatch between the speed at which new electricity demand is emerging and the time required to develop new mines is central to the company’s strategy.
“There’s a demand gap affecting uranium and copper, driven by rising electricity demand globally. You look at data centres, nuclear power, and clean energy — all of these are driving demand, and that gap isn’t going to close any time soon.” Berdusco says.
“There’s a shortage that is expected to persist through to 2040 according to most industry analysts. It takes 10–15 years to bring a mine into production, while it can take just 3 years to build and commission an operating data centre.”
That disparity is becoming increasingly relevant as the infrastructure behind AI and cloud computing expands. According to Bloomberg, power demand for data centres is set to increase 6X in by 2033.
While data centres require electricity around the clock, copper is also needed throughout the physical infrastructure connecting those facilities to the grid and distributing electricity within them.
AI servers also generate significant heat loads, adding more copper to the infrastructure required for cooling systems.
To fill this gap, nuclear power is attracting renewed attention as governments and technology companies seek reliable, continuous sources of electricity.
Purecore is building an asset portfolio that is designed to help fill this gap with high-impact projects in Canada.
Power drives mineral demand
The scale of the potential demand shift is significant.
Copper demand is forecast to reach 50 million tonnes by 2035, more than double recent levels, before exceeding 53 million tonnes by 2050, according to S&P Global.
However, current mined copper production capacity is projected to increase by only about 20% over the next decade.
The pressure extends well beyond data centres.
Copper is fundamental to electricity grids, transmission lines, transformers, substations, electric vehicles, and renewable energy infrastructure, making it essential to almost every part of the electrification buildout.
When it comes to uranium, a recent report by Sprott, the market may be entering a stronger contracting period as utilities look to lock in supplies for the years ahead.
Years of limited purchasing have left many nuclear operators with significant future uranium needs still to be covered, particularly as existing contracts begin to roll off toward the end of the decade.
The supply outlook has also contributed to increasingly bullish price expectations. Bank of America forecasts uranium prices reaching US$130 ($181.37) per pound in 2027, compared with a current spot price of around US$85–86.
According to the IEA, data centres could account for as much as 12% of total US electricity consumption by 2030, strengthening interest in reliable, round-the-clock power sources such as nuclear energy.
The supply response is considerably slower
Developing a mineral discovery into an operating mine can take more than a decade.
It is against that backdrop that Purecore is positioning its Canadian exploration portfolio.
“We are building a company aligned with the materials the world actually needs. The energy transition, the rebuilding of Western industrial capacity, and the race to secure critical supply chains are structural trends that are accelerating and creating a multi-decade tailwind for the right assets in the right jurisdictions,” Berdusco says.
Purecore holds an option to acquire an interest in the Yurchison Uranium Property in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin.
In July, the company entered a definitive option agreement with Skyharbour Resources (TSX-V:SYH) under which Purecore can earn an initial 70% interest in Yurchison and subsequently increase that interest to 100%.
Yurchison comprises 22 claims covering about 35,029 hectares and sits roughly 75km south of Cameco’s Rabbit Lake operation. Highway 905 crosses the property, providing road access.
Historical work includes airborne electromagnetic, magnetic, and radiometric surveys alongside ground geophysics, prospecting, geological mapping, geochemical sampling, and drilling.
Historical prospecting around old trenches returned uranium values ranging from 0.09% to 0.30% uranium oxide, alongside molybdenum values between 2,500 parts per million (ppm) and 6,400ppm.
Skyharbour has an established exploration presence in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin, holding a portfolio of 43 uranium projects in a region that hosts some of the world’s largest and highest-grade uranium deposits and produces almost 20% of global uranium supply.
According to Berdusco, the partnership provides the company with experience in a jurisdiction synonymous with uranium exploration.
“Skyharbour has a great history of being in the Basin. Aligning yourself with partners that have that proven experience is great,” Berdusco says.
Recently, Purecore also appointed Skyharbour CEO Jordan Trimble as a strategic adviser.
Copper complements uranium
While Yurchison provides the uranium component, Purecore’s wholly owned Bankier Project in British Columbia gives it exposure to copper and a broader suite of critical minerals.
Bankier is an early-stage exploration project in the Central Okanagan region, around 22km west of Peachland and near the historical Brenda copper-molybdenum mine.
Historical and recent exploration has identified multi-element geochemical anomalies including copper, molybdenum, gold, zinc, silver, lead, and uranium.
Purecore completed the first phase of its 2026 field program at Bankier in July.
Work included property-wide reconnaissance and access mapping, geological mapping focused on lithology, alteration, mineralisation, and structural controls, verification of historical sampling locations and mineral showings, and reconnaissance of previously unexplored areas.
The company says structural features observed around historical occurrences generally trend north–south, providing a focus for future exploration designed to better define alteration and prospective mineralisation.
For Purecore, Bankier adds a second leg to a portfolio being assembled around rising electricity demand.
While the project remains at an early exploration stage, its copper potential complements the company’s uranium exposure through Yurchison at a time when both commodities face growing demand from power generation and infrastructure.
“Our strategy remains simple: two commodities, one demand curve — uranium and copper positioned against the long-term growth in global electricity demand,” CEO Peter Berdusco says.
Purecore Metals is focused on advancing the materials that power modern energy systems and emerging technologies.
Write to Bruno Venditti at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au, Purecore Metals
