copper processing

Introduction
History
Ores
Mining
Extraction and refining
- Mineral processing
- Roasting, smelting, and converting
- Leaching
- Electrorefining
The metal and its alloys
- Electrical conductors
- Sheet and strip
- Brass
- Bronze
- Copper-nickel
- Beryllium-copper
Chemical compounds
- Oxides
- Halides
- Sulfates
- Carbonates
- Other compounds

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Molten copper pours from a large industrial furnace into rectangular molds at a copper smelting facility, with glowing metal and industrial equipment visible.

Polished copper samovar with ornate handles and a spout, topped with a teapot, displayed on a tray with a matching bowl in front of a window.

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

A sample of chrysocolla after azurite, which is an example of a pseudomorph composed of orthorhombic copper hydroxyl silicate, from Ray Mine, Pinal county, Arizona, U.S.

Copper in its native form, from Keweenaw, Houghton county, Michigan; in the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Texas.

Terraced open pit at the Phelps Dodge Morenci copper mine in southern Arizona, with mining equipment and trucks visible on the mine floor and benches.

Schematic diagram of a flotation separation cell.

Related Questions

At what temperature is copper concentrate roasted in older processing methods?
How are nickel, zinc, and lead recovered from mixed copper ores?
How can silver be recovered from copper-refining slimes?
How do air bubbles collect copper minerals in a flotation cell?
How do continuous copper conversion systems reduce emissions?
How do modern smelters reduce sulfur emissions from copper processing?
How do oxygen and oxygen-enriched air help smelt copper concentrate?
How does a copper converter remove iron and sulfur from molten matte?
How does electrowinning recover copper from a leach solution?
How does fire refining remove impurities from blister copper?
How does froth flotation separate copper minerals from gangue?
How does mineral processing concentrate copper minerals?
How does roasting prepare copper concentrate for smelting?
How does slag remove iron and other impurities from copper matte?
How does smelting separate copper-bearing matte from slag?
How does solvent extraction purify copper-bearing leach solutions?
How does the copper content of an ore vary?
How is electrowinning different from electrolytic refining of copper?
How much copper does copper matte usually contain?
How pure can cathode copper become after electrorefining?
What are anode slimes in copper electrorefining?
What are tuyeres used for in a copper converter?
What does gangue mean in copper ore processing?
What happens to gangue minerals during copper flotation?
What happens to gold and silver during copper electrorefining?
What is a copper concentrate used for after flotation?
What is blister copper and how pure is it?
What materials make up the electrolyte used for copper electrorefining?
Which copper ores are processed by smelting?
Which countries contain most of the world's known copper reserves?
Which impurities are driven off during the roasting of copper concentrate?
Which impurities are oxidized during the fire refining of copper?
Why are copper minerals near the top of porphyry deposits often oxides?
Why are flotation tailings sometimes reground and processed again?
Why can some modern copper smelters operate without auxiliary fuel?
Why can sulfur dioxide gas from modern copper smelters be used to make sulfuric acid?
Why do copper minerals rise into the froth during flotation?
Why do sulfide copper ores need an optimal degree of mineral liberation?
Why does copper move from the anode to the cathode during electrorefining?
Why is a rotating converter used in traditional copper conversion?
Why is copper ore crushed and ground before further processing?
Why is copper scrap added to a converter during copper processing?
Why is fire-refined copper cast into anodes?
Why is limestone sometimes added as a flux during copper smelting?
Why is sulfur released as sulfur dioxide during roasting?

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External Websites

British Broadcasting Corporation - Extraction and Purification of Copper

copper processing

metallurgy

Written by

John Campbell Taylor

President, Jan H. Reimers and Associates Inc. (metallurgical consulting engineers), Oakville, Ontario. Editor of or contributor to numerous papers on extraction, smelting, by-product recovery,...

John Campbell TaylorAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

copper processing, the extraction of copper from its ores and the preparation of copper metal or chemical compounds for use in various products. In its pure form or as an alloy, copper (Cu) is one of the most important metals in society. The pure metal has a face-centred cubic crystal structure, and there is no critical temperature at which this crystal structure changes. Consequently, it is ductile and possesses a high level of electrical and...

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