Process

  • Copper mining and production is a complex process involving several stages, from exploration to the final production of pure copper metal. Here’s an overview of the main steps involved:
  • Exploration and Discovery
  • Exploration: Geologists use various methods such as geological surveys, satellite imagery, and sampling to locate potential copper deposits.
  • Discovery: Once a promising area is identified, drilling is conducted to obtain core samples, which are analyzed to confirm the presence and concentration of copper.

Mining

  • Extraction: There are two main types of copper mining:
  • Open-pit mining: Suitable for large, near-surface deposits. Involves removing large quantities of overburden (soil and rock) to access the ore.
  • Underground mining: Used for deep deposits. It involves creating tunnels or shafts to reach the ore.

Copper Mining 1

Copper mining 2

Copper Mining 3

Copper processing 1

Copper Processing 2

Copper Processing 3

Processing

  • Crushing and Grinding: The ore is crushed and ground into a fine powder to increase the surface area for the leaching process.
  • Concentration: The powdered ore undergoes froth flotation to separate copper minerals from waste rock. This results in a concentrate containing 20-30% copper.

Smelting & Refining

  • Smelting: The concentrate is heated in a furnace at high temperatures. This process produces a mixture of copper, iron, and sulfur called matte, which contains about 50-70% copper.
  • Converting: The matte is further processed in a converter furnace to remove iron and sulfur, producing blister copper with about 98% purity.
  • Refining: The blister copper undergoes electrolytic refining to produce high-purity copper (99.99%). In this process, impure copper is made the anode and a pure copper sheet is made the cathode. When an electric current is passed through the solution, pure copper is deposited on the cathode.

Product – Copper ore

Copper ore is a naturally occurring mineral from which copper can be extracted economically. Here are some key points about copper ore:

Types of Copper Ore

1. Sulfide Ores:
• Chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂): The most common copper ore, making up
about 70% of the world’s copper reserves.
• Bornite (Cu₅FeS₄): Known as peacock ore due to its iridescent colors.
• Chalcocite (Cu₂S): High copper content but less abundant.
2. Oxide Ores:
• Malachite (Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂): Green copper carbonate mineral.
• Azurite (Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂): Blue carbonate mineral.
• Cuprite (Cu₂O): Red copper oxide mineral.
• Tenorite (CuO): Black copper oxide mineral.