# Copper

The workhorse conductor of the electrical age: grids, motors and buildings run on copper, and electrification needs ever more of it.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/

Base metals · No. 6

- EU strategic
- EU critical 2023
- US critical 2025
- India critical 2023
- HHI 1,089 · unconcentrated
 Base metals · Foundation · Matter

China mines just 8% of the world's copper, yet refines about 45% of it.

Chart: Illustration: Copper

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Most copper comes from huge low-grade porphyry deposits in the Andes and from Central Africa's Copperbelt. Ore under 1% copper is blasted, crushed and floated before smelting.

##### Three things to know

1. By the mid-1800s Britain made over half the world's copper, much of it smelted in Swansea.
2. Building construction takes 42% of US copper, more than electrical and electronic products at 23%.
3. Scrap provided about 30% of US copper supply in 2025.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Ore**Sulfide or oxide rock from open pits
2. 2 **Concentrate**Floated to 25-35% copper
3. 3 **Smelting**Blister or anode copper, 97-99% pure
4. 4 **Refining**Electrorefined to 99.99% cathode
5. 5 **Products**Wire rod, tube, sheet and brass
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##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/links/index.md)