Basic Introduction of Copper

Basic introduction of copper
Copper is one of the earliest metals discovered by human beings. It was used by human beings more than 3000 years ago. Copper in nature is divided into natural copper, copper oxide and copper sulfide. The reserves of natural copper and copper oxide are very small. Now more than 80% of copper in the world is refined from sulfide copper. The copper content of this ore is very low, generally about 2-3%. Copper, element symbol Cu, atomic weight 63.54, specific gravity 8.92, melting point 1083co. Pure copper is light rose or reddish. Copper has many valuable physical and chemical properties, such as high thermal conductivity and conductivity, strong chemical stability, high tensile strength, fusible bonding, corrosion resistance, plasticity and ductility. Pure copper can be drawn into very thin copper wire to make a very thin copper foil. The alloy can be formed with zinc, tin, lead, manganese, cobalt, nickel, aluminum, iron and other metals. The alloy formed is mainly divided into three categories: brass is copper zinc alloy, bronze is copper tin alloy, and white copper is copper cobalt nickel alloy.
The development of copper metallurgy technology has gone through a long process. The smelting of copper is still mainly by fire smelting, with the output accounting for about 85% of the total copper production in the world. The modern hydrometallurgy technology is gradually promoted, and it is expected to reach 20% of the total output by the end of this century. The introduction of hydrometallurgy has greatly reduced the smelting cost of copper.

Main use of copper
Copper is a kind of non-ferrous metal which is closely related to human beings. It is widely used in the fields of electrical, light industry, mechanical manufacturing, construction industry and national defense industry. It is second only to aluminum in the consumption of non-ferrous metal materials in China.
Copper is widely used in electrical and electronic industries, and it is used in large quantities, accounting for more than half of the total consumption. For winding resistance, switch and printed circuit board of various cables and wires, motors and transformers; In the manufacturing of machinery and transport vehicles, it is used to manufacture industrial valves and accessories, instruments, sliding bearings, molds, heat exchangers and pumps, etc; In the chemical industry, it is widely used in the manufacture of vacuum, distillation pot, brewing pot, etc; In the national defense industry, it is used to manufacture bullets, shells, gun parts, etc. for every 1 million bullets, it needs 13-14 tons of copper; In the construction industry, it is used as various pipes, pipe fittings, decorative devices, etc.
The following is the proportion of copper consumption in total copper consumption in various industries: the proportion of copper consumption in the total consumption of the industry:
Electronic (including communications) 48%
Building 24%
General works 12%
Traffic 7%
Other 9%
Basic introduction of copper
Production and consumption of copper
The world copper resources are mainly distributed in North America, Latin America and Central Africa. The proven reserves in the world are 3500million tons, including 24% in Chile, 16.9% in the United States, 10.15% in CIS, 7.39% in Zaire, 4.55% in Zambia, 3.41% in Peru and 60% of the world’s reserves in America.
In 1998, the annual output of copper in the world was about 13.6 million tons, and the output of major producers was 2.45 million tons in the United States, 23.33 million tons in Chile, 128 million tons in Japan, 111 million tons in China, 695000 tons in Germany, 640000 tons in Russia and 560000 tons in Canada. According to the consumption in 97 years, the United States is the largest copper consumer in the world, with a consumption of 27.77 million tons a year, accounting for about 1/5 of the world’s total consumption, followed by 1.44 million tons in Japan, 1.05 million tons in Germany, 620000 tons in Korea, 580000 tons in France, 530000 tons in Italy and 410000 tons in the UK. China is the fourth largest consumer of copper, with a consumption of 1.02 million tons in 1997.
Copper production in China is concentrated in East China, which accounts for 51.84% of the total production, of which Anhui and Jiangxi provinces account for about 30%. The main consumption of copper is in East and South China, which accounts for 70% of the total consumption.

The characteristics of copper suitable for futures trading
Copper is an important raw material for industrial production, which belongs to the world commodity and has a wide range of uses;
Copper is easy to store, transport and perishable, and can meet the basic requirements of futures delivery;
Copper specification and grade are easy to divide, quality standard and packaging standard are easy to unify, that is, it is easy to make standardization and compliance;
The price fluctuation of copper market is large, and the producers, consumers and dealers of copper need a place to avoid price risk.