(Bloomberg) -- A forecast surplus of copper going into 2024 has suddenly all but disappeared.

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The next couple of years were supposed to be a time of plenty for copper, thanks to a series of big new projects starting up around the world. The expectation across most of the industry was for a comfortable surplus before the market tightens again later this decade, when surging demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure is expected to collide with a lack of new mines.

Instead the mining industry has highlighted how vulnerable supply can be — whether due to political and social opposition, the difficulty of developing new operations, or simply the day-to-day challenge of pulling rocks up from deep beneath the earth.

Read: Copper Smelters Face Margin Slump as Global Mine Supply Tightens

In the past two weeks, one of the world’s biggest copper mines was ordered to close in the face of fierce public protests, while a slew of operational setbacks has forced one of the leading miners to slash its production forecasts.

The sudden removal of around 600,000 tons of expected supply would move the market from a large expected surplus into balance, or even a deficit, analysts say. And it’s also a major warning for the future: copper is an essential metal needed to decarbonize the global economy, which means mining companies will play a key role in facilitating the shift to green energy.

While the price reaction to the supply disruptions has so far been muted — amidst ongoing worries about China’s property sector — any sign of demand recovery would hit a tight market.

Last week, Panama’s government formally ordered First Quantum Minerals Ltd. to end all operations at its $10 billion copper mine in the country. The order followed weeks of protests and political wrangling that came to a head when the country’s Supreme Court invalidated the law that underpinned its mining license. The giant Cobre Panama can produce about 400,000 tons of copper a year.