Copper is a reddish metal with a face-centered cubic crystalline structure. It reflects red and orange light and absorbs other frequencies in the visible spectrum, due to its band structure, so it as a nice reddish color.
It is malleable, ductile, and an extremely good conductor of both heat and electricity. It is softer than zinc and can be polished to a bright finish. It is found in group Ib of the periodic table, together with silver and gold. Copper has low chemical reactivity.
In moist air it slowly forms a greenish surface film called patina; this coating protects the metal from further attack.
Most copper is used for electrical equipment (60%); construction, such as roofing and plumbing (20%); industrial machinery, such as heat exchangers (15%) and alloys (5%).
The main long established copper alloys are bronze, brass (a copper-zinc alloy), copper-tin-zinc, which was strong enough to make guns and cannons, and was known as gun metal, copper and nickel, known as cupronickel, which was the preferred metal for low-denomination coins.
World apparent copper usage is estimated to have increased by 3.8% (660,000 t), compared with the first ten months of 2013, according to the ICSG January 2014 Newsletter. Concentrate production increased by 10 % (1.06 Mt) and solvent extraction-electro winning (SX-EW) by 2.7% (82,000 t) in the period.
The copper market recorded a surplus of 442 kt in January to October 2013 which follows a surplus of 244 kt in the whole of 2012, according to WBMS December figures. World mine production rose 7.2% to 15.05 Mt, and refined output was up 6.4% to 17.8 Mt.
The copper market recorded a surplus of 375 kt in January to November 2013 which follows a surplus of 244 kt in the whole of 2012, according to WBMS January figures. Reported stocks fell by 134 kt during November and ended the month 88 kt lower than at the end of 2012.
According to the ICSG’s 2013 Statistical Yearbook, world copper mine production rose by 21 % during the 10 year period 2003 - 2012 from 13.8 Mt in 2003 to 16.7 Mt in 2012: copper in concentrates rose by 18 % while SX-EW production rose by 35%.
According to preliminary ICSG data for 2012, world usage of refined copper grew by around 3.1% (608,000 t) to 20.5 Mt, as compared to 2011. China’s apparent usage growth was based on a 17% increase in net imports of refined copper.
On a regional basis, usage grew by 7.5% in Asia (0.9% in Asia ex-China region) and 1% in the Americas but declined by 6% in Oceania, 6.3% in Europe, and 13.5% in Africa.