This is John Batchel, a conversation with colleague Simon Constable about copper.

We're told by the copper desks that the supply is very tight

and that what that means for copper in China is that they're going to run out from their supply

by the middle of June.

What is to be done?

Is there a way around this?

Without copper, you can't build all the high-end electronics that China wants to export or the B.Y.D.

Vehicle, electric battery without copper. But is there a workaround and Simon addresses the work

around? Aluminum. Aluminium. However, there's a catch. Here's Simon Constable on a workaround

without enough copper, which China will quickly not have enough of unless there's a deal. Here's Simon.

Well, there is a workaround, but it's a disastrous work around that I believe they've

tried before. Copper is very good for wiring houses for electricity, so you can

have lights on and your oven on and all that sort of stuff. One thing that Chana tried

about 20 years ago was to use aluminum, or aluminum, as Americans call it.

And the problem is, is that when you put that inside a house, it tends to set on fire and burn the house down.

So that really doesn't work very well.

It can work.

Aluminum can conduct electricity when it's outdoors in the air so it can be cooled down by the air.

And that's why you've got the pylons going across country, which are typically steel cord covered by aluminium aluminum.