Copper is one metal that you must have seen in daily life. It is a reddish orange metal that has been used for over 5000 years. It was the second metal discovered by man. Native copper is found in small quantities in solid or granular form.
Most of it occurs in the combined stat as sulphides, carbonates, silicates and oxides. Copper pyrites is the most important ore of copper. About 50% of the world’s supply of copper comes from copper pyrites.
Copper Jewelry
History reveals that man used copper as early as in the Stone Age. By 4000 B.C., mining of copper had begun and by 6000 B.C., man had started using instruments, weapons ad ornaments of copper. Later, man discovered that bronze- an alloy of copper, zinc and tin is harder than copper. Man, then, used bronze for making utensils, weapons and ornaments.
Other alloys of copper like brass alloy of copper and zinc are also used for the same purposes. Copper also makes an alloy with aluminum, which is called aluminum bronze.
As time passed, copper came to be one of the most important metals in the world, used extensively in electrical and other industries for making wires, dynamos, motor coils, and electrical contacts. It is used to make coins. Copper is used all over the world for making electric wires because of its softness and tenacity. It is a very good conductor of electricity and heat. Much of the world’s copper comes from USA , Canada , Russia , Chile and Zambia
