Editing Copper (section)

==History==
A timeline of copper illustrates how this metal has advanced human civilization for the past 11,000 years.<ref>A Timeline of Copper Technologies, Copper Development Association, https://www.copper.org/education/history/timeline/</ref>

===Prehistoric===
====Copper Age====
{{Main|Copper Age}}
[[File:Minoan copper ingot from Zakros, Crete.jpg|left|thumb|A corroded copper [[ingot]] from [[Zakros]], [[Crete]], shaped in the form of an animal skin ([[Oxhide ingot|oxhide]]) typical in that era]]
[[File:ReconstructedOetziAxe.jpg|thumb|upright|Many tools during the [[Chalcolithic]] Era included copper, such as the blade of this replica of [[Ötzi]]'s axe.]]
[[File:Chrysocolla Timna 070613.jpg|left|thumb|Copper ore ([[chrysocolla]]) in [[Cambrian]] sandstone from [[Chalcolithic]] mines in the [[Timna Valley]], southern [[Israel]]]]
Copper occurs naturally as [[native copper|native metallic copper]] and was known to some of the oldest civilizations on record. The history of copper use dates to 9000&nbsp;BC in the Middle East;<ref name="discovery">{{cite web|url=http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/copper/overview.php|title=CSA – Discovery Guides, A Brief History of Copper|publisher=Csa.com|access-date=12 September 2008|archive-date=3 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203154021/http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/copper/overview.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> a copper pendant was found in northern Iraq that dates to 8700&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book|page = 56|title = Jewelrymaking through History: an Encyclopedia|publisher= Greenwood Publishing Group|date = 2007|isbn = 978-0-313-33507-5|author = Rayner W. Hesse}}No primary source is given in that book.</ref> Evidence suggests that gold and [[meteoric iron]] (but not smelted iron) were the only metals used by humans before copper.<ref name="vander">{{cite web|url=http://elements.vanderkrogt.net/element.php?sym=Cu|title=Copper|publisher=Elements.vanderkrogt.net|access-date=12 September 2008}}</ref> The history of copper metallurgy is thought to follow this sequence: first, [[cold forming|cold working]] of native copper, then [[Annealing (metallurgy)|annealing]], [[smelting]], and, finally, [[lost-wax casting]]. In southeastern [[Anatolia]], all four of these techniques appear more or less simultaneously at the beginning of the [[Neolithic]] {{Circa|7500 BC}}.<ref name="Renfrew1990">{{cite book|last=Renfrew|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn|title=Before civilization: the radiocarbon revolution and prehistoric Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJhHPgAACAAJ|access-date=21 December 2011|date=1990|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-013642-5}}</ref>

Copper smelting was independently invented in different places. The earliest evidence of [[lost-wax casting]] copper comes from an amulet found in [[Mehrgarh]], Pakistan, and is dated to 4000&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Thoury |first1=M. |last2=Mille |first2=B. |last3=Séverin-Fabiani |first3=T. |last4=Robbiola |first4=L. |last5=Réfrégiers |first5=M. |last6=Jarrige |first6=J.-F. |last7=Bertrand |first7=L. |date=2016-11-15 |title=High spatial dynamics-photoluminescence imaging reveals the metallurgy of the earliest lost-wax cast object |journal=Nature Communications |volume=7 |pages=13356 |doi=10.1038/ncomms13356 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=5116070 |pmid=27843139|bibcode=2016NatCo...713356T }}</ref> [[Investment casting]] was invented in 4500–4000&nbsp;BC in Southeast Asia<ref name="discovery" /> Smelting was probably discovered in China before 2800&nbsp;BC, in Central America around 600&nbsp;AD, and in West Africa about the 9th or 10th century AD.<ref>{{cite news|author = Cowen, R.|url = http://www.geology.ucdavis.edu/~cowen/~GEL115/115CH3.html|title = Essays on Geology, History, and People: Chapter 3: Fire and Metals|access-date = 7 July 2009|archive-date = 10 May 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080510150436/http://www.geology.ucdavis.edu/~cowen/~GEL115/115CH3.html|url-status = dead}}</ref> [[Carbon dating]] has established mining at [[Alderley Edge Mines|Alderley Edge]] in [[Cheshire]], UK, at 2280 to 1890&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book|author=Timberlake, S.|title=The Archaeology of Alderley Edge: Survey, excavation and experiment in an ancient mining landscape|author2=Prag A.J.N.W.|date=2005|publisher=John and Erica Hedges Ltd.|location=Oxford|page=396|doi=10.30861/9781841717159|isbn=9781841717159|name-list-style=amp}}</ref>


[[Ötzi the Iceman]], a male dated from 3300 to 3200&nbsp;BC, was found with an axe with a copper head 99.7% pure; high levels of [[arsenic]] in his hair suggest an involvement in copper smelting.<ref name="CSA">{{cite web|title=CSA – Discovery Guides, A Brief History of Copper|url=http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/copper/overview.php|work=CSA Discovery Guides|access-date=29 April 2011|archive-date=3 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203154021/http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/copper/overview.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> Experience with copper has assisted the development of other metals; in particular, copper smelting likely led to the discovery of [[bloomery|iron smelting]].<ref name="CSA" /> 
[[File:Copper_knife,_spearpoints,_awls,_and_spud,_Late_Archaic_period,_Wisconsin,_3000_BC-1000_BC_-_Wisconsin_Historical_Museum_-_DSC03436.JPG|thumb|224x224px|Copper artifacts from the [[Old Copper Complex]] of North America, which may have existed from approximately 9500–5400 years before present]]
Production in the [[Old Copper Complex]] in Michigan and Wisconsin is dated between 6500 and 3000&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Pompeani-2021">{{Cite journal |last1=Pompeani |first1=David P |last2=Steinman |first2=Byron A |last3=Abbott |first3=Mark B |last4=Pompeani |first4=Katherine M |last5=Reardon |first5=William |last6=DePasqual |first6=Seth |last7=Mueller |first7=Robin H |title=On the Timing of the Old Copper Complex in North America: A Comparison of Radiocarbon Dates from Different Archaeological Contexts |date=April 2021 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0033822221000072/type/journal_article |journal=Radiocarbon |language=en |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=513–531 |doi=10.1017/RDC.2021.7 |bibcode=2021Radcb..63..513P |s2cid=233029733 |issn=0033-8222}}</ref><ref name="occ">Pleger, Thomas C. "A Brief Introduction to the Old Copper Complex of the Western Great Lakes: 4000–1000 BC", ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=6NUQNQAACAAJ Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin]'', Oconto, Wisconsin, 5 October 2002, pp. 10–18.</ref><ref>Emerson, Thomas E. and McElrath, Dale L. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=awsA08oYoskC&pg=PA709 Archaic Societies: Diversity and Complexity Across the Midcontinent]'', SUNY Press, 2009 {{ISBN|1-4384-2701-8}}.</ref> A copper spearpoint found in Wisconsin has been dated to 6500&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Pompeani-2021" /> Copper usage by the indigenous peoples of the Old Copper Complex from the [[Great Lakes region]] of North America has been radiometrically dated to as far back as 7500&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Pompeani-2021" /><ref name="Bebber-2022">{{Cite journal |last1=Bebber |first1=Michelle R. |last2=Buchanan |first2=Briggs |last3=Holland-Lulewicz |first3=Jacob |date=2022-04-26 |title=Refining the chronology of North America's copper using traditions: A macroscalar approach via Bayesian modeling |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=e0266908 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0266908 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=9041870 |pmid=35472064 |bibcode=2022PLoSO..1766908B |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Malakoff |first=David |date=2021-03-19 |title=Ancient Native Americans were among the world's first coppersmiths |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abi6135 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.abi6135 |s2cid=233663403 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref> Indigenous peoples of North America around the [[Great Lakes]] may have also been mining copper during this time, making it one of the oldest known examples of [[copper extraction]] in the world.<ref name="Pompeani-2013">{{Cite journal |last1=Pompeani |first1=David P. |last2=Abbott |first2=Mark B. |last3=Steinman |first3=Byron A. |last4=Bain |first4=Daniel J. |date=2013-05-14 |title=Lake Sediments Record Prehistoric Lead Pollution Related to Early Copper Production in North America |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es304499c |journal=Environmental Science & Technology |volume=47 |issue=11 |pages=5545–5552 |doi=10.1021/es304499c |pmid=23621800 |bibcode=2013EnST...47.5545P |issn=0013-936X}}</ref> There is evidence from prehistoric lead pollution from lakes in Michigan that people in the region began mining copper {{Circa|6000 BC}}.<ref name="Pompeani-2013" /><ref name="Pompeani-2021" /> Evidence suggests that utilitarian copper objects fell increasingly out of use in the Old Copper Complex of North America during the Bronze Age and a shift towards an increased production of ornamental copper objects occurred.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bebber |first1=Michelle R. |last2=Eren |first2=Metin I. |date=2018-10-01 |title=Toward a functional understanding of the North American Old Copper Culture "technomic devolution" |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |language=en |volume=98 |pages=34–44 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2018.08.001 |bibcode=2018JArSc..98...34B |s2cid=134060339 |issn=0305-4403|doi-access=free }}</ref>

====Bronze Age====
{{Main|Bronze Age}}
[[File:Egyptian - Blue Faience Saucer and Stand - Walters 481608 - Top.jpg|thumb|Copper was used in blue pigments like this "[[Egyptian Blue]]" [[Egyptian faience|faience]] saucer and stand from the Bronze Age, [[New Kingdom of Egypt]] (1400–1325&nbsp;BC).]]
Natural bronze, a type of copper made from ores rich in silicon, arsenic, and (rarely) tin, came into general use in the Balkans around 5500&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Chinese Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology|last=Dainian|first=Fan|pages=228}}</ref> Alloying copper with tin to make bronze was first practiced about 4000 years after the discovery of copper smelting, and about 2000 years after "natural bronze" had come into general use.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Epigenetics: The Death of the Genetic Theory of Disease Transmission|last=Wallach|first=Joel}}</ref> Bronze artifacts from the [[Vinča culture]] date to 4500&nbsp;BC.<ref name="antiquity1312">{{cite web | url = http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/087/ant0871030.htm | title = Tainted ores and the rise of tin bronzes in Eurasia, c. 6500 years ago | first1 = Miljana | last1 = Radivojević | first2 = Thilo | last2 = Rehren | publisher = Antiquity Publications Ltd | date = December 2013 | access-date = 5 February 2014 | archive-date = 5 February 2014 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20140205001504/http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/087/ant0871030.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> [[Sumer]]ian and [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] artifacts of copper and bronze alloys date to 3000&nbsp;BC.<ref name="hist">{{cite book|pages = 13, 48–66|title = Encyclopaedia of the History of Technology|author = McNeil, Ian |publisher = Routledge|date = 2002|location = London; New York|isbn = 978-0-203-19211-5}}</ref> [[Egyptian Blue]], or cuprorivaite (calcium copper silicate) is a synthetic pigment that contains copper and started being used in [[ancient Egypt]] around 3250&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Eastaugh |first1=Nicholas |last2=Walsh |first2=Valentine |last3=Chaplin |first3=Tracey |last4=Siddall |first4=Ruth |date=2013-06-17 |title=Pigment Compendium: Optical Microscopy of Historical Pigments |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780080454573 |doi=10.4324/9780080454573|isbn=9781136373794 }}</ref> The manufacturing process of Egyptian blue was known to the Romans, but by the fourth century AD the pigment fell out of use and the secret to its manufacturing process became lost. The Romans said the blue pigment was made from copper, silica, lime and [[natron]] and was known to them as ''[[Cerulean|caeruleum]].''

The [[Bronze Age]] began in Southeastern Europe around 3700–3300&nbsp;BC, in Northwestern Europe about 2500&nbsp;BC. It ended with the beginning of the Iron Age, 2000–1000&nbsp;BC in the Near East, and 600&nbsp;BC in Northern Europe. The transition between the [[Neolithic]] period and the Bronze Age was formerly termed the [[Chalcolithic]] period (copper-stone), when copper tools were used with stone tools. The term has gradually fallen out of favor because in some parts of the world, the Chalcolithic and Neolithic are coterminous at both ends. Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, is of much more recent origin. It was known to the Greeks, but became a significant supplement to bronze during the Roman Empire.<ref name="hist" />

===Ancient and post-classical===
[[File:Venus symbol (fixed width).svg|thumb|left|upright=0.45|In [[alchemy]] the symbol for copper was also the symbol for the [[Venus (mythology)|goddess]] and planet [[Venus]].]]
[[File:TimnaChalcolithicMine.JPG|thumb|Chalcolithic copper mine in [[Timna Valley]], [[Negev Desert]], Israel]]

In Greece, copper was known by the name {{transliteration|grc|chalkos}} (χαλκός). It was an important resource for the Romans, Greeks and other ancient peoples. In Roman times, it was known as ''aes Cyprium'', {{Lang|la|aes}} being the generic Latin term for copper alloys and ''Cyprium'' from [[Cyprus]], where much copper was mined. The phrase was simplified to ''cuprum'', hence the English ''copper''. [[Aphrodite]] ([[Venus (goddess)|Venus]] in Rome) represented copper in mythology and alchemy because of its lustrous beauty and its ancient use in producing mirrors; Cyprus, the source of copper, was sacred to the goddess. The seven heavenly bodies known to the ancients were associated with the seven metals known in antiquity, and Venus was assigned to copper, both because of the connection to the goddess and because Venus was the brightest heavenly body after the Sun and Moon and so corresponded to the most lustrous and desirable metal after gold and silver.<ref>{{cite journal|title = The Nomenclature of Copper and its Alloys|author = Rickard, T.A. |journal = Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute|volume = 62|pages = 281–290 |date = 1932|jstor = 2843960|doi = 10.2307/2843960}}</ref>

Copper was first mined in ancient Britain as early as 2100&nbsp;BC. Mining at the largest of these mines, the [[Great Orme]], continued into the late Bronze Age. Mining seems to have been largely restricted to [[supergene (geology)|supergene]] ores, which were easier to smelt. The rich copper deposits of [[Cornwall]] seem to have been largely untouched, in spite of extensive [[tin]] mining in the region, for reasons likely social and political rather than technological.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Timberlake |first1=Simon |title=New ideas on the exploitation of copper, tin, gold, and lead ores in Bronze Age Britain: The mining, smelting, and movement of metal |journal=Materials and Manufacturing Processes |date=11 June 2017 |volume=32 |issue=7–8 |pages=709–727 |doi=10.1080/10426914.2016.1221113|s2cid=138178474 }}</ref>

In North America, native copper is known to have been extracted from sites on [[Isle Royale]] with primitive stone tools between 800 and 1600&nbsp;AD.<ref>{{cite journal|title = The State of Our Knowledge About Ancient Copper Mining in Michigan|journal = The Michigan Archaeologist|volume = 41|page = 119|author = Martin, Susan R.|date = 1995|url = http://www.ramtops.co.uk/copper.html|issue = 2–3|url-status=dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160207073036/http://www.ramtops.co.uk/copper.html|archive-date = 7 February 2016}}</ref> Copper annealing was being performed in the North American city of [[Cahokia]] around 1000–1300&nbsp;AD.<ref name="Chastain-2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Chastain |first1=Matthew L. |last2=Deymier-Black |first2=Alix C. |last3=Kelly |first3=John E. |last4=Brown |first4=James A. |last5=Dunand |first5=David C. |date=2011-07-01 |title=Metallurgical analysis of copper artifacts from Cahokia |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440311000793 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |language=en |volume=38 |issue=7 |pages=1727–1736 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.004 |bibcode=2011JArSc..38.1727C |issn=0305-4403}}</ref> There are several exquisite copper plates, known as the [[Mississippian copper plates]] that have been found in North America in the area around Cahokia dating from this time period (1000–1300&nbsp;AD).<ref name="Chastain-2011" /> The copper plates were thought to have been manufactured at Cahokia before ending up elsewhere in the Midwest and southeastern United States like the [[Wulfing cache]] and [[Etowah plates]].
[[File:Spiro_Wulfing_and_Etowah_repousse_plates_HRoe_2012.jpg|thumb|224x224px|[[Mississippian copper plates]] from North America were produced in this style from around 800–1600&nbsp;AD.]]
In South America a copper mask dated to 1000&nbsp;BC found in the Argentinian Andes is the oldest known copper artifact discovered in the Andes.<ref name="Cortés-2017">{{Cite journal |last1=Cortés |first1=Leticia Inés |last2=Scattolin |first2=María Cristina |date=June 2017 |title=Ancient metalworking in South America: a 3000-year-old copper mask from the Argentinian Andes |journal=Antiquity |language=en |volume=91 |issue=357 |pages=688–700 |doi=10.15184/aqy.2017.28 |s2cid=53068689 |issn=0003-598X|doi-access=free |hdl=11336/39789 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Peru has been considered the origin for early copper [[metallurgy in pre-Columbian America]], but the copper mask from Argentina suggests that the [[Cajón del Maipo]] of the southern Andes was another important center for early copper workings in South America.<ref name="Cortés-2017" /> Copper metallurgy was flourishing in South America, particularly in Peru around 1000&nbsp;AD. Copper burial ornamentals from the 15th century have been uncovered, but the metal's commercial production did not start until the early 20th century.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

The cultural role of copper has been important, particularly in currency. Romans in the 6th through 3rd centuries BC used copper lumps as money. At first, the copper itself was valued, but gradually the shape and look of the copper became more important. [[Julius Caesar]] had his own coins made from brass, while [[Augustus|Octavianus Augustus Caesar]]'s coins were made from Cu-Pb-Sn alloys. With an estimated annual output of around 15,000&nbsp;t, [[Roman metallurgy|Roman copper mining and smelting activities]] reached a scale unsurpassed until the time of the [[Industrial Revolution]]; the [[Roman province|provinces]] most intensely mined were those of [[Hispania]], Cyprus and in Central Europe.<ref>{{cite journal|doi = 10.1126/science.272.5259.246|title = History of Ancient Copper Smelting Pollution During Roman and Medieval Times Recorded in Greenland Ice|pages = 246–249 (247f.)|date = 1996|last1 = Hong|first1 = S.|last2 = Candelone|first2 = J.-P.|issue = 5259|last3 = Patterson|first3 = C.C.|last4 = Boutron|first4 = C.F.|journal = Science|volume = 272|bibcode = 1996Sci...272..246H|s2cid = 176767223}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last = de Callataÿ|first = François|date = 2005|title = The Graeco-Roman Economy in the Super Long-Run: Lead, Copper, and Shipwrecks|journal = Journal of Roman Archaeology|volume = 18|pages = 361–372 (366–369)|doi = 10.1017/S104775940000742X|s2cid = 232346123}}</ref>

The gates of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]] used [[Corinthian bronze]] treated with [[depletion gilding]].{{Clarify|reason=Bronze is not a gold alloy, but depletion gilding can be done only on gold alloy.|date=June 2016}}{{Citation needed|date=June 2016}} The process was most prevalent in [[Alexandria]], where alchemy is thought to have begun.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.goldbulletin.org/downloads/JACOB_2_33.PDF |title=Corinthian Bronze and the Gold of the Alchemists |author=Savenije, Tom J. |author2=Warman, John M. |author3=Barentsen, Helma M. |author4=van Dijk, Marinus |author5=Zuilhof, Han |author6=Sudhölter, Ernst J.R. |journal=Macromolecules |issue=2 |volume=33 |date=2000 |pages=60–66 |doi=10.1021/ma9904870 |bibcode=2000MaMol..33...60S |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929003743/http://www.goldbulletin.org/downloads/JACOB_2_33.PDF |archive-date=29 September 2007 }}</ref> In ancient [[India]], copper was used in the [[holistic]] medical science [[Ayurveda]] for [[surgical]] instruments and other medical equipment. [[Ancient Egypt]]ians ([[Old Kingdom|~2400&nbsp;BC]]) used copper for sterilizing wounds and drinking water, and later to treat headaches, burns, and itching.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

===Modern===
[[File:AngleseyCopperStream.jpg|right|thumb|[[Acid mine drainage]] affecting the stream running from the disused [[Parys Mountain]] copper mines]]
[[File:Copper Pot.jpg|thumb| 18th-century copper [[kettle]] from Norway made from Swedish copper]]
The [[Great Copper Mountain]] was a mine in Falun, Sweden, that operated from the 10th century to 1992. It satisfied two-thirds of Europe's copper consumption in the 17th century and helped fund many of Sweden's wars during that time.<ref>{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4yp-x3TzDnEC&pg=PA60|page = 60|title = Mining in World History|isbn = 978-1-86189-173-0|author1 = Lynch, Martin|year=2004| publisher=Reaktion Books }}</ref> It was referred to as the nation's treasury; Sweden had a [[History of copper currency in Sweden|copper backed currency]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Gold: prices, facts, figures and research: A brief history of money|url=http://www.galmarley.com/FAQs_pages/monetary_history_faqs.htm#Scandinavian%20copper%20money|access-date=22 April 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Viipuri - Viborg.jpg|thumb|[[Chalcography]] of the city of [[Vyborg]] at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. The year 1709 carved on the printing plate.]]
Copper is used in roofing,<ref name="Grieken-2005" /> currency, and for photographic technology known as the [[daguerreotype]]. Copper was used in [[Renaissance]] sculpture, and was used to construct the [[Statue of Liberty]]; copper continues to be used in construction of various types. [[Copper electroplating|Copper plating]] and [[copper sheathing]] were widely used to protect the under-water hulls of ships, a technique pioneered by the British Admiralty in the 18th century.<ref>{{cite web|title = Copper and Brass in Ships|url = https://www.copper.org/education/history/60centuries/industrial_age/copperand.html|access-date = 6 September 2016}}</ref> The [[Norddeutsche Affinerie]] in Hamburg was the first modern [[electroplating]] plant, starting its production in 1876.<ref>{{cite journal|doi = 10.1002/adem.200400403|title = Process Optimization in Copper Electrorefining|date = 2004|author = Stelter, M.|journal = Advanced Engineering Materials|volume = 6|issue = 7|pages=558–562|last2 = Bombach|first2 = H.| s2cid=138550311 }}</ref> The German scientist [[Gottfried Osann]] invented [[powder metallurgy]] in 1830 while determining the metal's atomic mass; around then it was discovered that the amount and type of alloying element (e.g., tin) to copper would affect bell tones.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

During the rise in demand for copper for the Age of Electricity, from the 1880s until the Great Depression of the 1930s, the United States produced one third to half the world's newly mined copper.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gardner |first1=E. D. |display-authors=et al |title=Copper Mining in North America |date=1938 |publisher=U. S. Bureau of Mines |location=Washington, D. C. |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc12571/ |access-date=19 March 2019}}</ref> Major districts included the Keweenaw district of northern Michigan, primarily native copper deposits, which was eclipsed by the vast sulphide deposits of [[Butte, Montana]], in the late 1880s, which itself was eclipsed by porphyry deposits of the Southwest United States, especially at [[Bingham Canyon, Utah]], and [[Morenci, Arizona]]. Introduction of open pit steam shovel mining and innovations in smelting, refining, flotation concentration and other processing steps led to mass production. Early in the twentieth century, [[Arizona]] ranked first, followed by [[Montana]], then [[Utah]] and [[Michigan]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hyde |first1=Charles |title=Copper for America, the United States Copper Industry from Colonial Times to the 1990s |date=1998 |publisher=University of Arizona Press |location=Tucson, Arizona |isbn=0-8165-1817-3 |page=passim}}</ref>

[[Flash smelting]] was developed by [[Outokumpu]] in Finland and first applied at [[Harjavalta]] in 1949; the energy-efficient process accounts for 50% of the world's primary copper production.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.outokumpu.com/files/Technology/Documents/Newlogobrochures/FlashSmelting.pdf|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724043222/http://www.outokumpu.com/files/Technology/Documents/Newlogobrochures/FlashSmelting.pdf|archive-date = 24 July 2011|title = Outokumpu Flash Smelting|publisher = [[Outokumpu]]|page = 2}}</ref>

The [[Intergovernmental Council of Copper Exporting Countries]], formed in 1967 by Chile, Peru, Zaire and Zambia, operated in the copper market as [[OPEC]] does in oil, though it never achieved the same influence, particularly because the second-largest producer, the United States, was never a member; it was dissolved in 1988.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Karen A. Mingst |date=1976 |title=Cooperation or illusion: an examination of the intergovernmental council of copper exporting countries |journal=International Organization |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=263–287 |doi=10.1017/S0020818300018270|s2cid=154183817 }}</ref>

In 2008, China became the world's largest importer of copper and has continued to be as of at least 2023.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Massot |first=Pascale |title=China's Vulnerability Paradox: How the World's Largest Consumer Transformed Global Commodity Markets |date=2024 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-777140-2 |location=New York, NY, United States of America |pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=187}}

===Copper demand===
Total world production in 2023 is expected to be almost 23 million [[metric ton]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GlobalData |date=2023-11-17 |title=Global copper supply in 2023 will be supported by increased output from the DRC, Peru, and Chile |url=https://www.mining-technology.com/analyst-comment/global-copper-supply-2023/ |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=Mining Technology |language=en-US}}</ref> Copper demand is increasing due to the ongoing [[Electrification|energy transition to electricity]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Woods |first=Bob |date=2023-09-27 |title=Copper is critical to energy transition. The world is falling way behind on producing enough |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/27/copper-is-critical-to-climate-the-world-is-way-behind-on-production.html |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> China accounts for over half the demand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=China drives copper to 4-month low, raising global economic alarms |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Markets/Commodities/China-drives-copper-to-4-month-low-raising-global-economic-alarms2 |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=Nikkei Asia |language=en-GB}}</ref>

For some purposes, other metals can substitute, [[aluminium wire]] was substituted in many applications, but improper design resulted in fire hazards.<ref>{{cite web |title=Repairing aluminum wiring |url=https://www.cpsc.gov/pagefiles/118856/516.pdf |website=U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission |access-date=23 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225171612/https://www.cpsc.gov/pagefiles/118856/516.pdf |archive-date=25 December 2016 |page=1 |quote=A national survey conducted by Franklin Research Institute for CPSC showed that homes built before 1972, and wired with aluminum, are 55 times more likely to have one or more wire connections at outlets reach "Fire Hazard Conditions" than homes wired with copper.}}</ref> The safety issues have since been solved by use of larger sizes of aluminium wire (#8AWG and up), and properly designed aluminium wiring is still being installed in place of copper. For example, the [[Airbus A380]] uses aluminum wire in place of copper wire for electrical power transmission.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/manufacturing-mayday |title=Manufacturing Mayday: Production glitches send Airbus into a tailspin |work=[[IEEE Spectrum]] |author=Hellemans, Alexander |date=1 January 2007 |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref>