Copper: Sources, Profile, Usage & Others Interesting Facts

Written by Rayden Sam Posted on 2024-01-23

Copper comes from the root word, ‘Cyprium aes,’ meaning a metal from Cyprus island. And here’s what you must know about copper prices and copper uses.

Copper (Cyprum): Copper as an element, copper bottles & copper prices show humans’ multifaceted popularity of copper.

Copper remains the first known metal to be cast, smelted, and molded by man. The Copper Age (the age when people learned to use copper as metal) & the Bronze Age, during which men used copper and tin alloy, celebrate the relevance of copper in human history.

Natural copper combines two stable isotopes: copper-63 (69.15 percent) and copper-65 (30.85 percent).

Profile

Position in the periodic table	11b elements
Atomic no	29
Atomic weight	65.546
Valence	1,2
Electronic configuration	2-8-18-1
Color	Pinkish orange color
Density	8.96 at 20 C
Melting point	1,083 °C (1,981 °F)
Boiling point	2,567 °C (4,653 °F)

Element Copper:

Extremely ductile metal
Next to silver, in thermal and electric conductivity
Electrically refined copper has 99.2 to 99.6 percent of copper and 0.03 percent of oxygen.
International Annealed Copper Standard, this variety of copper has 100 to 102 percent electric conductivity.
Its rate of recycling is higher than any other metal.
Apart from being a pure metal, copper combines chalcopyrite, chalcocite, malachite, bornite, cuprite, and azurite.

Copper sources:

Copper occurs in nature in 4 forms. They are pure metal, porphyry deposits, massive deposits, and mixed ores. Native copper is the metal found sober, and copper in an ore can vary from 0.4 percent to more than 12 percent.

In porphyry copper deposits, copper deposits in host rock (porphyry, schist, etc.) come scattered around the rock. In the upper part of the rock, it occurs as copper oxides, and in the lower part of the rock combines with sulfides and sulfates. The porphyry copper deposit in the Andes Mountains of Chile is the most remarkable known deposit of the mineral to date. As a result, by the early 21st century, Chile had become the world’s leading producer of copper.

Copper uses:

Important raw materials in Electronic manufacturing industries.
Main constituent in important alloys Brass(copper and zinc), Bronze(copper and tin)& nickel silvers (copper, zinc, and nickel, no silver).
Electroplated coating to prevent rusting
Part of coinage metals
According to a US geological survey, copper remains the third most metal consumed by industry after iron & aluminum.
75 percent of this copper goes into the manufacture of electric cables, wires, telecommunications, etc.
An average adult needs 1.2 milligrams of copper to catalyze the energy transfer to cells.
Catalyzes hemoglobin formation in the human body.

Copper prices:

Copper prices refer to the price or value per kilogram of copper (pure metal ) in the international market. This price depends on emerging markets, US housing markets, supply constraints, and substitution for copper.

Copper pricing is also an essential barometer in assessing the health of the overall global economy as it remains a crucial player in the industry.

So, whether it be Copper prices or Copper uses like copper bottles, you will find this versatile material significantly influences the industry!