Copper occurs naturally in various forms. It can be found in:

   •    Sulphide deposits (as chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite and covellite)

   •    carbonate deposits (as azurite and malachite)

   •    silicate deposits (as chrysycolla and dioptase).

   •    It can also be found as pure “native” copper.

  
H         How it's mined and produced:

   •    Copper-bearing ores are extracted from underground or open pit mines, then crushed, ground into powder  
         and   processed into concentrate.
   •    Copper can also be leached out of the rock or ore.

Minerals or concentrate can be processed into metal using one of two methods:

  •    smelting and refining.

  •    Leaching and electrowinning 

 

How It's used

Copper has been used for centuries and remains in widespread use today. Because of its chemical, physical and aesthetic properties, it’s a strong choice for a wide range of domestic, industrial and high-tech applications, including among other things:

 

  •    Building wire

  •    Power transmission

  •    Heating, cooling and air conditioning

  •    Electronic circuitry

  •    Plumbing fixtures

  •    Automotive parts

  •    Cookware

  •    Coins

  •    Feed supplement to protect plants and crops.

Copper can be drawn into long, thin wires (called ductile) and is corrosion resistant, malleable and an excellent

conductor of heat and electricity. When it’s alloyed with other metals, such as zinc (to form brass), aluminum or

tin (to form bronzes), or nickel for example, it can acquire new characteristics so it can be used in highly

specialized applications.

Copper is one of the most recycled metals. It’s almost impossible to distinguish between recycled copper (or

secondary copper) and primary copper (copper originating from ore), once it’s been reprocessed.

The graph below shows the use of refined copper by region (2006):