Copper
Copper was discovered and first used during the Neolithic Period, or New Stone Age. Though the exact time of this discovery will probably never be known, it is believed to have been about 8000 BCE. Copper is found in the free metallic state in nature; this native copper is the material that humans employed as a substitute for stone. From it they fashioned crude hammers and knives and, later, other utensils. The malleability of the material made it relatively simple to shape implements by beating the metal. Pounding hardened the copper so that more durable edges resulted; the bright reddish colour of the metal and its durability made it highly prized.
The search for copper during this early period led to the discovery and working of deposits of native copper. Sometime after 6000 BCE the discovery was made that the metal could be melted in the campfire and cast into the desired shape. Then followed the discovery of the relation of metallic copper to copper-bearing rock and the possibility of reducing ores to the metal by the use of fire and charcoal. This was the dawn of the metallic age and the birth of metallurgy.
Copper is commercially produced mainly by smelting or leaching, usually followed by electrodeposition from sulfate solutions. For a detailed treatment of the production of copper. The major portion of copper produced in the world is used by the electrical industries; most of the remainder is combined with other metals to form alloys. (It is also technologically important as an electroplated coating.) Important series of alloys in which copper is the chief constituent are brasses (copper and zinc), bronzes (copper and tin), and nickel silvers (copper, zinc, and nickel, no silver). There are many useful alloys of copper and nickel, including Monel; the two metals are completely miscible. Copper also forms an important series of alloys with aluminum, called aluminum bronzes. Beryllium copper (2 percent Be) is an unusual copper alloy in that it can be hardened by heat treatment. Copper is a part of many coinage metals. Long after the Bronze Age passed into the Iron Age, copper remained the metal second in use and importance to iron. By the 1960s, however, cheaper and much more plentiful aluminum had moved into second place in world production.
| # | Country | mine production 2016 (metric tons) | % of world mine production | demonstrated reserves 2016 (metric tons) | % of world demonstrated reserves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chile | 5,500,000 | 28.4 | 210,000,000 | 29.2 |
| 2 | Peru | 2,300,000 | 11.9 | 81,000,000 | 11.3 |
| 3 | China | 1,740,000 | 9.0 | 28,000,000 | 3.9 |
| 4 | United States | 1,410,000 | 7.3 | 35,000,000 | 4.9 |
| 5 | Australia | 970,000 | 5.0 | 89,000,000 | 12.4 |
| 6 | Congo (Kinshasa) | 910,000 | 4.7 | 20,000,000 | 2.8 |
| 7 | Zambia | 740,000 | 3.8 | 20,000,000 | 7.4 |
Note: All copper types are available and we can deliver to your destination ports.