Copper is a metallic chemical element and a trace element essential to the human body. Copper is also the first metal discovered by man and is a metal widely used by man, belonging to the heavy metals.
Copper is the first metal used by mankind. As early as in prehistoric times, people began to extract open-pit copper mines and used the copper obtained to make weapons, styles and other utensils, the use of copper had a profound impact on the progress of early human civilisation. Copper is a metal found in the Earth’s crust and in the oceans. The content of copper in the earth’s crust is about 0.01%, and in individual copper deposits, the content of copper can reach 3%~5%. Most of the copper in nature exists as compounds, i.e. copper minerals. Copper minerals aggregate with other minerals to form copper ores, which are mined and beneficiated to become copper concentrates with high copper grades. It is the only metal that can be produced naturally in large quantities, and also exists in various ores (e.g. chalcopyrite, chalcopyrite, porphyry, chalcopyrite and malachite), and can be used in the form of monomorphic metal states as well as brass, bronze and other alloys for industrial, engineering and technological purposes.
