Education

Copper Facts

An Important Natural Resource

We're in no danger of running out of copper. Known worldwide resources of this important and valuable metal are estimated at nearly 5.8 trillion pounds of which only about 0.7 trillion (12%) have been mined throughout history.

And keep in mind, nearly all of that 0.7 trillion (or 700 billion) pounds is still in circulation because copper's recycling rate is higher than that of any other engineering metal.

Until well into the 1800s, most copper used in the U.S.A. had to be imported. Today, we are virtually self-sufficient and, worldwide, second only to Chile in production.

Each year in the U.S.A., nearly as much copper is recovered from recycled material as is derived from newly mined ore. Excluding wire production, most of which uses newly refined copper, more than three-fourths of the amount used by copper and brass mills, ingot makers, foundries, powder plants and other industries comes from recycled scrap.

Almost half of all recycled copper scrap is old post-consumer scrap, such as discarded electric cable, junked automobile radiators and air conditioners, or even ancient Egyptian plumbing. (Yes, it's been around that long.)

The remainder is new scrap, such as chips and turnings from screw machine production.

The information provided in this section has been collected from many varied sources and is true and accurate insofar as the Copper Development Association Inc. has been able to determine.

Additional Resources

The CDA web site provides many other resources for people interested in learning more about copper and its alloys.

Take a look at Innovations - our on-line magazine.

Please also check out Copper In Your Home - a section dedicated to consumers, with a special section just for kids!

If you need metallurgical or properties information, take a look at the Standards & Properties section.

Please also take a look at our application specific sections if you are looking for information regarding plumbing, electrical, architecture, and other copper alloy applications.