Copper is one of the most used mined metals in the world. It has vast applications in the electrical, metallurgical, and medical field. Almost 80% of electronic devices use copper in some way. Obtaining copper from Earth is very complex and sensitive. Copper isn’t present in abundant quantities in many parts of the globe. That’s why it’s a significant part of the export of many countries.
The advancements made in the mining industry, in general, have resulted in the increased usage and growing financial capability of the copper mining industry and an increased number of copper extraction companies like Three Valley Copper. The copper mining industry has developed a long way, from traditional and old-dated mining techniques to modern-day mining methods. In addition to that, the modern copper mining equipment makes the method less dangerous and reduces the amount of chemical waste exposure.
Copper Mining In General
Copper is generally present on Earth in the form of copper ores. That’s the main reason that copper mining is traditionally done in open-pit mines. Big companies like Three Valley Copper extract copper ores with modern equipment. After its extraction, the ore is crushed using heavy machinery. Once ground, it’s sent away for roasting, which converts it to sulfides and oxides. The oxides then are smelted to make matte which in turn undergoes several refining processes to produce copper.
Copper Mining Process
Copper is one of the oldest metals and has been used for almost ten thousand years. It is used in wiring, water pipes, coins, electronics, roofing, lighting rods, and many other fields. The process of mining copper in raw form and smelting it to the usable condition can be divided into several steps.
1. Extraction of Copper Ore
The first step in this regard is to extract the copper ore. Heavy machinery is used to break the large block of ore into smaller pieces. Open-pit mines are generally preferred for the extraction of copper ore.
2. Beneficiation
The next step in this regard is the beneficiation of copper ore. Beneficiation removes any wasteful materials from the ore and converts it into a relatively higher-grade product. Beneficiation involves many physical and chemical processes.
3. Smelting and Extraction
Smelting is done for sulfide ore concentrate and solvent extraction for oxide ore leach solution. Copper oxides are considered low-grade ore. Copper sulfide ores are less abundant but contain high amounts of copper.
4. Refining
Copper from the smelter is melted and cast as anodes. The leftover solution from the extraction process is further moved for the plating operation.
5. Sulfide Ore Refining
As mentioned earlier, sulfide ore has a relatively high amount of copper. For the final step, sulfide ore copper from the smelter is processed to make high-quality copper cathodes.
Copper Recycling
In addition to the above processing of copper ores, used copper, or in other words, scrapes and alloys, can also be re-purified and recycled into new components. Copper recycling is a relatively cheaper method of obtaining pure copper. According to Statista, around 865,000 metric tons of copper were recycled from scrap in 2019.