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Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper ores consists of a series of physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, local environmental regulations, and other factors. [1]
The United States is a net exporter of copper ore and copper concentrate. In 2015, out of 1.25 million metric tons of recoverable copper metal extracted from mines, 320,000 tons of copper were exported in the form of ore and concentrate, to be smelted and refined elsewhere.
The copper is extracted from the solvent with strong aqueous acid which then deposits pure copper onto cathodes using an electrolytic procedure (electrowinning). SX/EW processing is best known for its use by the copper industry, where it accounts for 20% of worldwide production, but the technology is also successfully applied to a wide range of ...
Copper has been in use for at least 10,000 years, but more than 95% of all copper ever mined and smelted has been extracted since 1900. [36] As with many natural resources, the total amount of copper on Earth is vast, with around 10 14 tons in the top kilometer of Earth's crust, which is about 5 million years' worth at the current rate of ...
Production trends in the top five copper-producing countries, 1950-2012. This is a list of countries by mined copper production. Copper ore can be exported to be smelted so that a nation's smelter production of copper can differ greatly from its mined production. See: List of countries by copper smelter production.
Ecton Hill is a historic mining area at Ecton, formerly a group of important copper-producing mines in central England.It is now a scheduled monument.It is located in the Staffordshire Moorlands area, where the valley of the River Manifold cuts through Lower Carboniferous limestones which have been subjected to folding and faulting during the Hercynian and Alpine orogenies.
Copper slag is created during the copper smelting process. Around 4.5 million tons of copper slag is produced each year. Although copper slag is used in grit blasting and landfilling, only 15 to 20% of it is being used as of 2015. Since this is a heavily wasted material, finding ways to use it in different industries can reduce overall waste.
Combining copper with tin and/or arsenic in the right proportions produces bronze, an alloy that is significantly harder than copper. The first copper/arsenic bronzes date from 4200 BC from Asia Minor. The Inca bronze alloys were also of this type. Arsenic is often an impurity in copper ores, so the discovery could have been made by accident.