Metal Mining

 

 

Industrial Minerals

Construction Materials

National Statistics


Aluminium Antimony Bauxite Copper
Chromite Gold Iron Lead
Manganese Nickel Silver Tin
Tintanium Tungsten Zinc  


Copper

Copper is a mineral. As a mineral, natural copper, also called native copper, is found only in small quantities throughout the world, but there are a few areas that are rich in findings. Most copper in nature is found in minerals associated with sulfur, or in the oxidized products of these minerals.

The copper ores are far more abundant than native copper and are therefore the main source of copper nowadays. Copper may be found in large deposits, relatively close to the surface, and amenable to relatively low cost bulk mining methods.
The combination of its physical properties (copper is malleable, resistant, conductive and ductile), abundance, beauty, and low cost make it a valuable commodity.

Copper is used extensively, in products such as electric cables and wires, switches, plumbing, in heat-exchanging devices such as refrigerator and air-conditioner coils, in roofing and building construction, in chemical, pharmaceutical and electrical machinery (such as motors, electromagnets, generators and communications devices), in alloys (brass, bronze, gunmetal, Monel metal, German silver and a new alloy with 3% beryllium that is particularly vibration resistant), alloy castings, electroplated protective coatings and undercoats for nickel, chromium, zinc, etc..

Powdered copper is sometimes used as a pigment in paints. Compounds of copper are used as mordants (fixatives) in dyeing and in electroplating.
Copper has been fashioned into ornamental objects and making copper ustensils. Coins have been made of copper throughout history.
Copper is also used in pigments, insecticides, and fungicides, although it has of lately been largely replaced by synthetic chemicals.


Link:
-World Bureau of Metal Statistics - Statistics 2000 - 2003
-ECI-The The European Copper Institute




Copper Production
Thousand Tonnes
 
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Europe
Albenia 0 0 600 1.700 400 1.300
Bulgaria 84.400 91.600 79.600 94.900 118.300 118.700
Finland 14.400 14.900 15.500 15.000 13.000 13.600
Macedonia 5.600 700 0 6.000 8.400 8.400
Poland 502.800 503.200 530.500 511.500 497.200 408.000
Portugal 77.227 77.581 95.743 89.541 78.660 90.247
Romania 19.300 23.400 20.400 16.300 12.200 2.213
Russia 198.300 195.000 189.000 192.000 202.500 207.000
Serbia & Montenegro 0 15.500 13.800 11.600 11.100 16.500
Slovakia 100 95 93 65 0 0
Spain 1.200 600 1.400 7.900 8.700 6.281
Sweden 71.991 83.100 82.400 87.068 86.746 62.905
Turkey 60.000 59.000 49.300 54.100 46.400 81.000
Yugoslavia 30.000 0 0 0 0 0
total 1.065.318 1.064.676 1.078.336 1.087.674 1.083.606 1.016.146
           
Asia
Afghanistan 2.100 2.300 2.500 2.700 0 0
Armenia 16.600 18.100 17.700 16.400 17.726 17.427
China 578.100 614.400 754.200 776.600 889.000 946.400
DPR Korea 12.000 12.000 12.000 12.000 12.000 12.000
India 31.500 28.500 29.500 26.700 27.400 32.900
Indonesia 1.167.400 1.003.400 841.600 1.064.200 816.600 788.900
Iran 134.632 127.800 145.668 164.200 216.200 249.100
Japan 1.500 1.000 1.000 1.000 300 0
Kazakhstan 473.800 485.400 462.000 401.700 446.000 406.500
Laos 0 0 1.700 30.500 60.800 62.500
Malaysia 7.000 1.000 0 0 0 0
Mongolia 133.900 130.270 130.000 126.300 129.700 130.200
Myanmar 27.500 27.900 31.800 34.500 19.500 15.100
Oman 1.300 2.000 3.000 4.000 0 0
Pakistan 0 5.400 14.700 17.700 18.700 18.800
Philippines 18.364 20.925 16.000 16.300 17.700 22.862
Russia 463.470 455.000 441.000 448.000 472.500 483.000
Saudi Arabia 600 800 652 668 700 737
Uzbekistan 79.900 80.000 82.800 103.500 103.500 103.500
Viet Nam 1.100 1.200 2.000 3.100 11.400 12.500
total 3.150.766 3.017.395 2.989.820 3.250.068 3.259.726 3.302.426
America
America
Argentina 218.100 199.020 177.100 187.317 180.144 180.223
Bolivia 100 344 576 35 218 606
Brazil 32.700 26.275 103.153 133.325 147.800 205.700
Canada 603.500 557.100 562.800 595.400 603.295 590.342
Chile 4.580.600 4.904.200 5.412.500 5.320.500 5.360.800 5.557.000
Colombia 1.900 1.600 1.700 1.300 600 700
Cuba 900 870 860 840 0 0
Ecuador 0 0 200 0 0 0
Georgia 13.100 12.000 11.800 9.500 9.300 11.000
Honduras 300 300 300 300 300 0
Jamaica 1.200 0 0 0 0 0
Mexico 329.900 303.800 352.300 373.300 327.500 335.500
Peru 844.500 842.578 1.035.600 1.009.898 1.049.900 1.190.281
United States 1.142.400 1.116.000 1.160.000 1.140.000 1.220.000 1.170.000
total 7.769.200 7.964.087 8.818.889 8.771.715 8.889.857 9.241.352
         
Africa        
Botswana 21.498 24.300 21.200 26.700 24.300 19.996
Congo 32.300 56.900 69.600 97.700 131.400 143.000
Mauritania 0 0 0 0 5.000 28.800
Morocco 6.230 4.371 4.400 4.000 4.500 6.300
Namibia 17.850 16.200 11.200 10.157 6.300 7.616
Papua New Guinea 211.315 202.300 173.400 193.000 194.400 169.184
South Africa, Republic of 90.000 120.800 120.577 103.907 109.000 117.000
Tanzania 4.200 3.700 4.200 3.700 3.300 3.200
Zambia 307.800 346.900 411.000 465.000 515.618 550.292
Zimbabwe 2.500 2.800 2.300 2.570 2.700 3.000
total 693.693 778.271 854.000 906.734 996.518 1.048.388
         
Oceania        
Australia 876.000 830.000 854.000 921.000 879.000 869.000
total 876.000 830.000 854.000 921.000 879.000 869.000
         
Middle East        
Cyprus 3.695 2.552 1.334 0 900 3.012
total 3.695 2.552 1.334 0 900 3.012
           
WORLD TOTAL 17.403.131 17.452.647 18.367.953 19.093.993 19.375.851 15.480.324