copper

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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.

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A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England

Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

Watergate scandal. Richard M. Nixon. President Nixon gives a press conference and talks to the press, March 12, 1971.

9 American Political Scandals

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins)

New Seven Wonders of the World

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

Vietnam War. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson awards the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant Marty A. Hammer, during a visit to military personnel, Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, October 26, 1966. President Johnson

Vietnam War Timeline

Space race (1957-1969) infographic between United States (U.S.) and Russia. America, Soviet Union, U.S.S.R., space exploration

Timeline of the Space Race, 1957–69

Flags of the countries of the world (flagpoles).

How Many Countries Are There in the World?

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)

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 nickel silver copper work porphyry copper deposit 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

Marcus Daly

American industrialist

William E. Dodge

American industrialist

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

James Douglas

American engineer

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