Copper (Cu)

Copper (from the latin word “cuprum”) is a soft, malleable, ductile and highly conductive metal. Its name is given to the fact the metal was principally mined in Cyprus (aes cyprium) in the Roman era. With its symbol Cu and its characteristic red-orange colour, Copper was the first metal to be used by men (over 10000 years ago) and the first to be alloyed with another metal to create Bronze (more than 5000 years ago).  It is today used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material and as a constituent of various metal alloys.

PRODUCTION & RECYCLING

Chile is the major producer of Copper with one-third of the global share (over 15 million tonnes per year), and its demand is in continuous growth. The extraction of this metal at the current rate is still worth about 5 million years. Despite that, its recycling is a major source in modern markets. It does not lose its properties after recycling, and it’s today the third most recycled metal after Iron and Aluminium, with 80% of all Copper ever mined still in use today. Apart from its use as a pure element (to produce such goods as electrical wire), the metal is alloyed into Brass and Bronze to increase hardness and craft many items, as for example musical instruments.