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History of Copper
First discovered and used during the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age).
In its pure form or as an alloy, it is also most important metal in society.
exact time of this discovery not known, but believed to be ~8000 BC.
Native copper is employed as a substitute for stone (Copper Age).
They fashioned crude hammers and knives and later other utensils.
Malleability and Pounding hardened the copper so that more durable
edges resulted.
The early development of copper probably was most advanced in Egypt.
~5000 BC, copper weapons and implements were left in graves.
Bronze Age - Bronze (alloy of copper and Tin), is harder and tougher
than either; it was widely employed to fashion weapons and objects of
art.
Ores
Principal forms in which copper ores are found include native copper,
porphyry copper, massive deposits, and mixed ores.
The amount of copper in an ore can vary from 0.4 percent to more than 12
percent.
Porphyry Copper deposits, in which the copper materials are more or less
uniformly scattered throughout the rock, account for the greatest tonnage
of metal in the producing areas of the world.
Massive deposits are of higher metal content but of more limited extent;
they may be oxidized in the upper portion with sulfides lower down. In
mixed ores, Nickel, Zinc, or lead can accompany the copper; when such
ore is mined, these other metals also are refined and sold as by-products.
Physical Properties of Copper
Color Reddish-Brown metal
Malleability Capable of being shaped or bent
Ductility Easily pulled or stretched into a thin wire
Luster Has a shine or glow
Conductivity Excellent transmission of heat or electricity
Precipitation
Halides
Cuprous Chloride, CuCl, can be prepared by treating metallic copper and
cuprous oxide with hydrochloric acid or by treating metallic copper and
cupric chloride withHCl.
The hydrochloric acid solution of cuprous chloride readily absorbs CO
and Acetylene and is used for this purpose in gas analysis.
How is copper formed ?
Copper forms as molten rock with small amounts of copper fluid
crystallizes.
As the copper solidifies later than other minerals within the larger rock,
the final deposits have a high concentration.
Copper appears most frequently in deposits in which lead, silver, gold
and zinc are also present.
During the cooling process, large crystals developed, with smaller
ones forming around them are porphyries.
Initially, the amount of copper in the molten rock is fairly small. As the
molten rock cools, the other minerals solidify first, so that the copper
remaining in the fluid elevates in concentration. The process of
crystallization makes the rock shrink, forming cracks, and the fluid that
is left moves into those cracks.
By this point, the fluid contains a great deal of copper, so by the time it
solidifies, it is almost pure copper. The deposits appear when the rocks
on top of them erode, exposing the copper to mining operations.
Distribution in the World