Copper, also known as Cuprum, is shown in the periodic table as Cu with an atomic number of 29. It has a melting point of 1083 degrees Celsius. Around 8000 B.C., Neolithic (Stone Age) people began using this reddish-brown metal in place of their stone tools. Of course, they used copper in its native state, because it wasn’t until about 4,000 years later that smelting techniques were discovered in Mesopotamia and smelting from copper-bearing ores began.
By 3000 BC, people had learned to alloy copper with tin, which gave rise to bronze and began the Bronze Age.
Copper stretches easily, molds (casts) easily, and is easily shaped. Copper forms copper oxide on its surface, which helps it resist further corrosion. You may have seen roofs on older buildings that look blue-green. These are copper roofs and the blue-green patina is copper oxide.
While copper doesn’t make the top ten in terms of resource abundance, it’s certainly not in short supply. The world’s top five copper suppliers produced nearly 12 million metric tons of copper in 2016, with Chile leading the way with 5.5 million metric tons, Peru with 2.3 million, China with 1.74 million, the United States with 1.4 million, and Australia with 970,000. Worldwide, more than 19 million metric tons of copper were produced in 2016. Today’s numbers, while unavailable, may exceed these impressive figures.
Copper is vital to human development and continues to be the metal of choice for a large number of domestic, industrial and high-tech applications. This explains the increase in demand for copper over the past three decades. This demand has increased with the growth and development of emerging economies.
