copper

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References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Follow copper from green rock in open-pit mines to smelting, conversion, and refining into anode plates

Kitwe: open-pit copper mine

Explore an interactive periodic table of the elements

copper cookware

A sample of copper on smithsonite from the Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Namib.

For Students

copper

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Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom)

The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church

All Saints Day. All Souls Day. Candles in cemetery in Poland on All Saints Day, November 1. All Souls Day, November 2. Christian church, All Hallows, Solemnity of All Saints, Feast of All Saints, purgatory, Roman Catholic church

7 Unique Burial Rituals Across the World

Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet

10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"

How Deadly Is Quicksand?

Chinese pictograph, calligraphy tablet of Huang Tingjian, a famous calligrapher in Ancient Song Dynasty. The background of Chinese cultural elements.

The World’s 5 Most Commonly Used Writing Systems

Agnes with a lamb near her feet. St. Agnes (Saint Agnes) design drawing for stained glass window by J&R Lamb Studios, ink, mount size 10.5 x 14.5 in.

Roman Catholic Saints

July, 2006, Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-121. See attached for full caption information.

Will Light-Speed Space Travel Ever Be Possible?

copper: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Copper Climbs to Two-Week High as Weak Dollar Boosts Metals • Apr. 23, 2025, 2:08 AM ET (Bloomberg.com)

Copper Traders, Manufacturers Discuss Funding for Chile Smelter • Apr. 14, 2025, 11:21 AM ET (Bloomberg.com)

Codelco Boss Keeps Faith in Copper Fundamentals Amid Market Rout • Apr. 8, 2025, 8:41 AM ET (Bloomberg.com)

Copper’s Bull Run Turns to Rout as Reality of Tariffs Bites • Apr. 7, 2025, 6:25 AM ET (Bloomberg.com)

VTA: Copper thefts hamper resumption of light rail service after strike • Mar. 31, 2025, 5:55 AM ET (CBS)

Facts

Also Known As	Cu • cuprum

Photos and Videos

Kitwe: open-pit copper mine

copper cookware

A sample of copper on smithsonite from the Tsumeb Mine, Tsumeb, Namib.

Gigantic trucks hauling 330 metric tons of ore at the Chuquicamata copper mine, Calama, Chile.

voltammetric wave of copper(II)

Follow copper from green rock in open-pit mines to smelting, conversion, and refining into anode plates

Take a look at researchers studying Mississippians copper work from the Cahokian mounds in southwestern Illinois

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Topics

What Is the Statue of Liberty Made Of?copper processing CIGS solar cell copper work porphyry copper deposit nickel silver chemical element transition metal hydrogen carbon sodium nitrogen sulfur phosphorus boron iodine fluorine zinc

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Arizona: The copper era

Key People

James Douglas, oil painting by E.W. Grier, 19th century; in a private collection

James Douglas

American engineer

Marcus Daly

American industrialist

William E. Dodge

American industrialist

Sir Chester Beatty

British engineer

Johan Gottlieb Gahn

Swedish mineralogist

Quiz

Periodic Table of the elements concept image (chemistry)

Facts You Should Know: The Periodic Table Quiz

Concept artwork on the periodic table of elements.

118 Names and Symbols of the Periodic Table Quiz