Where and how to find copper. Copper ore is a natural raw material for copper mining. How is copper mined?

Copper ore is a compound of minerals in which copper is present in sufficient concentration for its further processing and use for industrial purposes. In production, it is advisable to use enriched ore with a metal content of at least 0.5-1%.

Copper- a plastic element of a golden-pink hue. In the open air, the metal is immediately covered with an oxygen film, which gives it a specific red-yellow color.

Characteristic properties: corrosion resistance, high thermal and electrical conductivity.

At the same time, the element has high antibacterial properties, destroys influenza viruses and staphylococci.

In the industrial complex, copper is most often used in alloys with other components: nickel, zinc, tin, gold, etc.

Due to its low resistivity, copper is actively used in the electrical field for the manufacture of power cables and wires. Good thermal conductivity allows this metal to be used in cooling radiators and air conditioners.

The following manufacturing sectors cannot do without copper:

• mechanical engineering (window lifters, bearings);
• shipbuilding (plating of hulls and structures);
• construction (pipes, roofing and facing materials, plumbing equipment, etc.).

For the jewelry industry, alloys with gold are relevant, which increase mechanical strength and abrasion resistance.

Experts predict large-scale use of metal as antibacterial surfaces in medical institutions (railings, doors, handles, handrails, etc.).

Interesting! The famous Statue of Liberty is made of copper. Its construction required about 80 tons of material. And in Nepal this metal is considered sacred.

Statue of Liberty

Groups of copper ores

All copper ores are usually divided into nine industrial-geological types, which in turn are divided into six groups according to origin:

Stratiform group

This group includes copper shales and sandstones. These materials are represented by large deposits. Their characteristic features are: a simple reservoir shape, uniform distribution of useful components, flat surface bedding, allowing the use of open mining methods.

Pyrite group

This includes native copper, vein and copper-pyrite compounds. Native metal is most often found in the oxidation zones of copper sulfide mines, along with other oxidized minerals.

Copper pyrite metals differ in shapes and sizes. The main mineral in the ore is pyrite; chalcopyrites and sphalerites are also present.

Vein ores are characterized by a vein structure with inclusions. Such ores, as a rule, occur in contact with porphyries.

Porphyry copper (hydrothermal)

These deposits, together with copper and molybdenum, contain gold, silver, selenium and other useful elements, the presence of which is significantly higher than normal.

Copper-nickel

The deposits are presented in sheet, lens-shaped, irregular and vein forms. The metal has a massive texture interspersed with cobalt, platinum group metals, gold, etc.

Skarn Ore

Skarn ores are local deposits in limestones and calcareous-terrigenous rocks. They are characterized by small sizes and complex morphology. The copper concentration is high, but uneven - up to 3%.

Carbonate

This group includes iron-copper and carbonatite ore. So far, the only deposit of this type of copper has been discovered in South Africa. This complex mine belongs to the alkaline rock massif.

What ores do copper come from?

Interesting! Copper is very rarely found in nature in the form of nuggets. To date, the largest such find is considered to be a nugget discovered in North America in the United States weighing 420 tons.

There are almost 250 types of copper, but only 20 types are used in industry. The most common of them:

Chalcozine

A compound of minerals containing sulfur (20%) and copper (80%). It is called "copper luster" because of its characteristic metallic luster. The ore has a dense or granular structure of a black or gray hue.

Chalcopyrite

The metal is of hydrothermal origin and is found in skarns and greisens. Most often it is part of polymetallic ore along with galena and sphalerite.

Bornite

A common mineral of the sulfide class in nature, one of the main elements of copper ores. It has a characteristic bluish-purple tint. Contains copper (63.33%), iron (11.12%), sulfur (25.55%) and silver impurities. It occurs in the form of dense, fine-grained masses.

Copper ore mining methods

Depending on the depth of the mine, open and closed methods of metal extraction are used.

In closed (underground) mining, mines are built several kilometers long. The mines are equipped with elevators to move workers and equipment, as well as to transport minerals to the surface.

Underground, the rock must be crushed using special drilling equipment with spikes. Then, with the help of buckets, the ore is collected and loaded.

The open method is relevant when the deposits are located at a depth of 400-500 meters. First, the top layer of waste rock is removed, after which the copper ore is removed. To make it easier to get hard rocks, it is first destroyed with explosive devices.

Open pit method of copper ore mining

There are two main methods for producing copper:

• pyrometallurgical;
• hydrometallurgical.

The first method involves fire refining of metal and allows you to process any raw material with the extraction of all useful elements. Using this technology, it is possible to obtain copper even from poor rock, in which the metal content is below 0.5%. The second method is used, as a rule, only for processing oxidized or native ore with a low copper content.

Mining of copper ores in the world

Copper mines are not concentrated in specific geographical areas, but are found in different countries. In America, chalcocite deposits are being developed in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Deposits of copper oxide, cuprite, are common in Cuba. Copper chloride is mined in Peru.

There are almost no sources of enriched ores left in the world; copper has been mined for several hundred years, so all the rich mines have long been developed. In industry it is necessary to use low-grade minerals (up to 0.5% copper).

Interesting! In terms of global production, copper is in third place after iron and aluminum.

Leading countries in copper ore reserves and production

The list of countries rich in copper ores includes: Chile, America, China, Kazakhstan, Poland, Indonesia, Zambia. The Russian Federation's share in world ore production is 9% (this is third place after Chile and the USA). Chile is the leader in mineral reserves, containing 33% of the world's copper.

The largest mines are:

• Chuquicamata mine (Chile). Development has been carried out for more than 100 years, during this period 26 million tons of metal were developed;

• Escondida mine (Chile). Mining has been carried out since 1990;

• Grasberg mine (Indonesia).

Recently, large mines were discovered in Peru (Antamina), Brazil (Salobu), and Kazakhstan (Nurkazgan).

Experts say that the volume of economically viable copper is more than 400 million tons. all over the world.

Copper ore mining in Russia

The structure of the copper raw material base in Russia differs significantly from the world market. The main share in it falls on sulfide copper-nickel (40%) and pyrite (19%) mines. While in other countries porphyry copper deposits and cuprous sandstones predominate.

Copper ore deposits in Russia

Answering the question of where copper ores are mined in Russia, the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug should first be highlighted. More than 60% of all copper ore deposits in Russia are concentrated in the Oktyabrsky, Tapakhninsky and Norilsk deposits. About one third of the mineral is mined in the Ural copper mining region.

A large Udokan mine has been discovered in the Chita region, which has not yet been developed due to undeveloped transport infrastructure. According to expert data, the exploited deposits in the Russian Federation will last no more than 30 years.

Copper is a ductile metal of golden-pink color, which in its pure form is found in nature more often than nuggets of gold or silver. But copper is mainly mined from copper ores - natural mineral formations. Most copper is found in sulfide ores. In oxidation zones, copper is found in most silicates, carbonates and oxides. Copper is also found in sedimentary rocks: shales and cuprous sandstones.

Modern science knows more than 200 minerals containing copper. In industry, metal extracted from sulfates is most often used, including:

• Chalcocite (79% copper);
• Bornite (up to 65%);
• Chalcopyrite, or copper pyrite (about 35%).

Copper is also contained in copper-nickel compounds. The most famous of them is cubanite (up to 45% copper). Of the oxidized ores, it is worth noting cuprite (88%), malachite (up to 58%), azurite (up to 56%). Sometimes there are deposits of native copper.

Characteristics and types of copper

Copper is one of the first metals that people began to use. The chemical symbol is Cu (cuprum). This metal has high thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, and electrical conductivity. Copper melts at low temperatures, is excellent for soldering, and the metal is easy to cut and process.

Some copper compounds can be toxic to humans. High levels of copper in water and food can cause liver and gallbladder diseases. Quarries left behind after copper mining become sources of toxins. For example, Berkeley Pit Lake, formed in the crater of a former copper mine, is considered the most toxic lake in the world. But the bactericidal properties of copper are disproportionately higher. It has been proven that copper helps fight influenza viruses and destroys staphylococci.

In industry, copper is rarely used in its pure form. The following alloys have found greater use:

• Brass (an alloy of copper and zinc);
• Bronze (with tin);
• Babbitts (with lead);
• Cupronickel (with nickel);
• Dural (with aluminum);
• Jewelry alloy (with gold).

Copper deposits and mining

The largest copper deposit in the world is located in Chile - the Esconida quarry. Huge deposits of native copper were discovered here.

Other large deposits:

• Mines on the Keweenaw Peninsula (USA, Michigan);
• Chuquicamata mine in Chile (up to 600 thousand tons per year);
• Corocoro mine in Bolivia;
• Gumishevsky mine (Middle Urals, Russia) - now depleted;
• Valley of the Levikha River (Middle Urals, Russia);
• Gabbro massif (Italy).

According to the US Geological Survey, the largest copper deposits belong to Chile. Next come the USA, Russia, Peru and Mexico.

Copper mining methods:

• Open;
• Hydrometallurgical - when copper is leached from the rock with a weak solution of sulfuric acid;
• Pyrometallurgical - consists of several stages (concentration, roasting, smelting for matte, purging and refining).

Careful handling of copper ores

Copper ores are a non-renewable resource, and therefore their development requires careful treatment, both in mining methods and in industrial processing.

Industry is increasingly becoming more demanding of constant volumes of resources received, which leads to their gradual depletion. To do this, it is necessary to more carefully control the extraction of copper ores, along with other non-renewable resources such as oil, natural gas, and use them more carefully and rationally, both in industrial and domestic consumption.

Copper Applications

Copper is one of the most important non-ferrous metals, which has found application in almost all spheres of human activity.

• Electrical industry (wires, wire);
• Mechanical engineering (starter, power windows, radiators, coolers, bearings);
• Shipbuilding (hull plating);
• Construction (pipes, pipelines, roofing and facing materials, bathtubs, faucets, sinks);
• In art (jewelry, statues, coinage);
• In everyday life (air conditioners, microwave ovens, coins, food additives, musical instruments).

Interestingly, the Statue of Liberty is made of copper. Its construction required about 80 tons of metal. And in Nepal, copper is considered a sacred metal.

Copper is among the top most common elements and is in twenty-sixth place. Usually it is found in the natural environment in the form of separately located pure nuggets, but recently such finds are becoming less and less common. Accordingly, such deposits make up only a minimal share in metal production.

The bulk of copper is mined from rocks in which it is found, often in combination with other metals. There are a large number of copper minerals. But in the metallurgical industry the most valuable types are:

• copper pyrite;
• malachite;
• chalcopyrite;
• azurite

The Russian Federation is one of the five world leaders - countries in which mined copper makes up the largest share and brings the most fruitful results. Often copper, which is not located too deep relative to the surface of the earth, is mined by opencast mining. For this purpose, huge quarries or cuts are dug. These open copper mining sites can be several kilometers wide. The depths of the quarries can extend for more than one hundred meters. In this way, about two-thirds of all copper produced is mined. But in cases where copper deposits are located deep underground, special structures are built that are designed to extract the element under the layers of the earth. They are called mines. In Russia, copper is mined using both the first and second methods.

Copper as an element

Copper is the twenty-ninth element of the periodic table, which can be found both in its native derivative and in the composition of natural minerals. These include copper pyrite or chalcopyrite, copper luster or chalcocite, and malachite.

This element appears in the form of metal, the shade of which is red. If you break the copper, you can see that the color inside is pink. It is very malleable and viscous. Due to its properties, copper is an excellent conductor of current and according to this criterion it is second only to silver, coming in second place.

Copper also conducts heat well. Such properties make the element indispensable for the electrical industry - it is used mainly in its pure form. More than fifty percent of all copper mined on the territory of the Russian Federation is consumed for the needs of this type of industry.

If we talk about the properties of copper as a chemical element of the periodic table, then it interacts little with other elements. If copper is exposed to open air, its surface becomes greenish, which is explained by the appearance of its basic carbonate, which creates a green film on the top layer of copper.

Copper salts are widely used in households. Since they are poisonous, they are used for pest control. They are also actively used as fertilizers and catalysts. Copper alloys such as brass, bronze and cupronickel are also used no less.

In the form of ore, copper, as a rule, is located in the “company” of several more, or one, metals. Very often this is gold, silver, as well as platinum, nickel or lead and bismuth. A large amount of copper is mined from a mineral such as bornite, the second name of which is mottled ore.

Structure of the Russian raw material base of copper

Unlike all countries in the world, forty percent of the Russian raw material base consists of copper-nickel sulfide deposits. And nineteen percent are pyrite deposits.

And this gives Russia an advantage over other countries, since their main reserves are located in porphyry copper deposits. The Krasnoyarsk ore region is rich in copper and nickel deposits. There are mainly sulfide deposits here.

The bulk of all copper deposits in the Russian expanses are located in the Urals and in the Trans-Baikal Territory. In total, more than forty percent of the total volume of all copper owned by the country is mined there.

The Orenburg and Chelyabinsk regions have the greatest potential for increasing copper production. The Trans-Baikal region is rich in geological and industrial copper deposits in cuprous sandstones.

The Kemerovo region, Buryatia, Altai Territory and the North Caucasus are rich in copper pyrite ore deposits. At the moment, the main share of mined copper comes from the Udokan deposit. Currently it is the largest deposit in the Russian Federation.

Several new copper deposits have been discovered in the Far East and the Urals, which belong to the porphyritic copper type.

Main copper deposits

Subsoil user, field	Geological-industrial type	Reserves, thousand tons of WO3		Share in balance reserves of the Russian Federation, %	WO3 content in ores, %	Production in 2012, t WO3
		A+B+C1	C2
OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel
Oktyabrskoe (Krasnoyarsk region)	Sulfide copper-nickel	14631	5723	22,3	1,65	351
Talnakhskoe (Krasnoyarsk region)	Sulfide copper-nickel	7877,2	2728,2	11,6	1,11	80,6
Norilsk I (Krasnoyarsk region)	Sulfide copper-nickel	773,1	836,1	1,8	0,48	13,9
OJSC "Kola MMC"
Zhdanovskoe (Murmansk region)	Sulfide copper-nickel	765,6	227,2	1,1	0,3	12,2
OJSC "Gaisky GOK"
Gayskoye (Orenburg region)	Copper pyrite	4555,6	478,5	5,5	1,3	62,5
LLC "Bashkir copper"
Yubileiny (Republic of Bashkortostan)	Copper pyrite	1360,2	46	1,5	1,7	36,2
Podolskoye (Republic of Bashkortostan)	Copper pyrite	1701,3	16,7	1,9	2,11	0
LLC "Baikal Mining Company"
Udokanskoe (Trans-Baikal Territory)	Cuprous sandstones	14434,6	5519,6	21,8	1,56	0
LLC "GDK Baimskaya"
Gerbil (Chukchi Autonomous Okrug)	Porphyry copper	2606,2	1124,5	4	0,83	0
LLC "GRK Bystrinskoye"
Bystrinskoye (Trans-Baikal Territory)	Skarn copper-magnetite	1717,5	355,9	2,3	0,78	0
CJSC "Mikheevsky GOK"
Mikheevskoe (Chelyabinsk region)	Porphyry copper	1264,3	299,7	1,7	0,44	1,4
CJSC "Tominsky GOK"
Tominskoye (Chelyabinsk region)	Porphyry copper	743,3	793,2	1,7	0,47	0
OJSC "Svyatogor"
Volkovskoe (Sverdlovsk region)	Vanadium-iron-copper	1612,2	153,4	1,9	0,64	6,6

Copper Ural

The largest copper deposits relative to the entire Russian territory are located in the Urals. In order to simplify the extraction of the copper element from those ores in which its presence is very small. This method is called hydrometallurgical. It is also used in cases where it is necessary to extract copper from what is waste from other metallurgical industries.

The basis of the hydrometallurgical method is the conversion of complexly soluble compounds of the required element into simpler ones that dissolve more easily. Next comes the process of extracting them from the resulting solution. This procedure is carried out using several methods, but the most common of them are:

• solution leaching;
• use of ion exchange resins;
• electrolysis.

Udokan copper deposit

This deposit is located in the Trans-Baikal Territory on a ridge called “Udokan”. This area is seismically dangerous and is located in the permafrost zone. Udokan is the largest copper deposit in Russia. It plays an important role in the extraction of this element throughout the world, being at the third stage. The ores found in this mine consist almost entirely of copper and have only a small amount of silver in their composition.

The discovery of the Udokan deposit occurred in the last century, or more precisely in 1949. The First Main Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Geology sent a forestry expedition to Udokan, which made the first discovery. Over the next six years, a detailed study of this deposit took place and big plans were made for its development. But unexpectedly, after another year, all work was completely frozen.

After another ten years, they again became actively interested in the deposit, took many different samples, and carried out a huge number of other studies, but then again all work was completely unexpectedly stopped. It was only in 2008 that the deposit began to be actively developed. Its development takes place in an open-pit manner - copper is extracted from a quarry. At the moment, the copper deposits in this deposit are large-scale and more than thirty thousand tons of ore are mined from here every year.

Sorsk copper-molybdenum deposit

This source is located at the intersection of two tectonic zones - northwestern and northeastern, near the Batenevsky Ridge. The main minerals that include copper and are mined here are molybdenite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite.

This deposit was formed due to the fact that high-temperature processes regularly occurred in this area. It is divided into several components - Western and Eastern, which in turn are separated from each other by a barren gap.

This deposit is also being developed by opencast mining, and its parts - Eastern and Western - are developed to varying degrees. The second has been mastered almost twice as much as the first.

The ore here is enriched by several processes. This procedure occurs in several methods:

1. in cone-shaped crushers, minerals are crushed four times;
2. wet grinding using specially equipped mills, as well as classifiers made in a spiral shape;
3. flotation, divided into two stages - selective and collective;
4. finishing of copper and molybdenum concentrate;
5. dehydration;
6. drying;
7. blending.

The operation of the processing plant is dependent on recycled water supply.

Sibay copper-zinc-pyrite deposit

This deposit is not only copper, but also zinc and pyrite. It is located near the city of Sibay, which is located in Bashkortostan. The discovery of this deposit occurred in 1913, but it began to be developed only two decades later.

From west to east, the Sibay copper-zinc-pyrite deposit is limited by faults. Here ores are mined exclusively using the closed method. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a mine was built on the deposit. Its depth exceeds four tens of meters.

Later, in 2004, a branch was formed on the site of the Sibay deposit, which is called “Uchalinsky GOK”.

The main problems of the copper mining industry

Today, one of the main problems of the copper mining industry is its containment. It is due to the fact that the land is gradually becoming poorer, resources are being depleted and it is becoming more and more difficult to extract ore.

The depleting raw material base leads to the fact that many enterprises engaged in activities related to the extraction of copper ore are faced with major financial difficulties, and not every company manages to get through them and return to the previous rhythm of work.

But the most serious problem associated with the mining of copper ore is severe environmental pollution. Due to the fact that so-called dumps are formed around the formed quarries, this leads to the fact that after ore mining, heavy metals from them fall into the layers of the earth with each rain, from where they are transferred by groundwater flows to rivers and lakes. Lately there has been talk about turning these embankments into second-class raw materials, which can be used in other production and slightly solve the problem of environmental pollution.

The largest copper mining enterprise in Russia

Recently, the largest copper mining enterprise in Russia was launched in the Chelyabinsk region - the Mikheevsky Mining and Processing Plant. It is the largest mining project developed in the state since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Mikheevskoye deposit was included in the list of the fifty largest copper deposits in the world. Its main feature is the low metal content in the mined ore, but its significant reserves. It is planned to extract more than eighteen tons of ore from this deposit annually, and over time to increase the extracted volumes several times.

A huge amount of money was invested in this project, amounting to twenty-five billion rubles. The opening of this enterprise contributed to the creation of seven hundred new jobs. The personnel of the Mikheevsky Mining and Processing Plant includes metallurgists-concentrators, as well as miners. Residents of nearby areas work here. In total, the company's staff numbers about one thousand people.

The management plans to equip the enterprise with a 100% water circulation system, which will be closed. The equipment located at the enterprise and all its systems will be equipped with the latest technology. Dust collection and dust suppression systems will be installed here, which will facilitate the most difficult work of the Mikheevsky GOK employees.

Copper today is a metal in extraordinary demand and widely used both in everyday life and in industry. In nature, Cu can be found both in its pure state and in the form of ore. There are several methods for mining and obtaining copper from source rocks. Moreover, all of them are used quite widely in industry. How copper is mined will be discussed in the article.

A little history

In what area copper began to be mined and used by humans for the first time in ancient times, archaeologists, unfortunately, were unable to find out. However, it is known for certain that it was this metal that people were the very first to process and use in everyday life.

Copper became known to man back in the Stone Age. Some nuggets of this metal found by archaeologists bear traces of processing with stone axes. Initially, people used copper mainly only as jewelry. At the same time, for the manufacture of such products, people in ancient times used exclusively nuggets of this metal that they found. Later, people learned to process copper-containing ore.

Many peoples of antiquity had an idea of ​​how Cu is mined and how it is processed. Archaeologists have found plenty of evidence of this. After man learned to make alloys of copper and zinc, the Bronze Age began. Actually, the name “copper” itself was once coined by the ancient Romans. Such metal was brought to this country mainly from the island of Cyprus. That's why the Romans called it aes cyprium.

Since this metal was once used very widely in everyday life by humans, the technologies for its extraction were, of course, developed quite advanced. Our ancestors obtained copper mainly from malachite ores. A mixture of such material and coal was placed in a clay vessel and placed in a pit. Next, the mass in the pot was set on fire. The carbon monoxide released as a result reduced malachite to copper.

Reserves in nature

Where can you mine copper in the wild today? Currently, deposits of this popular metal have been discovered on all continents of the Earth. At the same time, Cu reserves are considered to be practically unlimited. Geologists nowadays are finding more and more new deposits of pure copper, as well as ores containing it. For example, in 1950, world reserves of this metal amounted to 90 million tons. By 1970, this figure had already increased to 250 million tons, and by 1998 - to 340 million tons. Currently, it is believed that copper reserves on the planet amount to more than 2.3 billion tons.

Deposits and methods of mining pure copper

As already mentioned, initially people used native Cu in everyday life. Of course, such pure copper is still mined today. Nuggets of this metal are formed in the earth's crust as a result of exogenous and endogenous processes. The largest known deposit of native copper on the planet is currently located in the USA, in the Lake Superior region. In Russia, native copper occurs in the Udokan deposit, as well as in some other places in Transbaikalia. In addition, the answer to the question of where copper can be mined in Russia in the form of nuggets is the Ural region.

In nature, pure metal of this variety is formed in the oxidation zone of copper sulfate deposits. Typically, nuggets contain about 90-99% copper itself. The rest comes from other metals. In any case, the answer to the question of how native copper is mined is provided by two main technologies. Such deposits, like ore deposits, are developed using closed mine or open pit methods. In the first case, technological processes such as drilling and mining are used.

Copper nuggets can weigh a lot. The largest of them were once found on Lake Superior in the United States. The weight of these nuggets was about 500 tons.

We found out where copper is mined in Russia. These are mainly Transbaikalia and the Urals. In our country, of course, very large nuggets of this metal were also found at different times. For example, copper pieces weighing up to several tons were often found in the Middle Urals. One of these nuggets weighing 860 kg is now stored in St. Petersburg, in the Museum of the Mining Institute.

Copper ores and their deposits

At the moment, obtaining Cu is considered economically profitable and feasible even if it is contained in the rock at least 0.3%.

Most often, the following rocks are mined in nature today to extract copper industrially:

bornites Cu 5 FeS 4 - sulfide ores, otherwise called copper purple or variegated pyrites and containing about 63.3% Cu;

chalcopyrites CuFeS 2 - minerals of hydrothermal origin;

chalcocite Cu 2 S containing more than 75% copper;

cuprites Cu 2 O, often also found in places of native copper deposits;

malachites, which are carbonated copper greens.

The largest copper ore deposit in Russia is located in Norilsk. Also, such rocks are mined in large quantities in some places in the Urals, Transbaikalia, Chukotka, Tuva and the Kola Peninsula.

How copper ore deposits are developed

Various types of rocks containing Cu, as well as nuggets, can be mined on the planet using two main technologies:

closed;

open.

In the first case, mines are built at the deposit, the length of which can reach several kilometers. To move workers and equipment, such underground tunnels are equipped with elevators and railway tracks. Rock crushing in mines is carried out using special drilling equipment with spikes. Copper ore is collected and loaded to be sent upstairs using buckets.

If the deposits are located no further than 400-500 m from the surface of the earth, they are mined using the open-pit method. In this case, the top rock layer in the field is first removed using explosive devices. Next, the copper ore itself is gradually removed.

Methods for obtaining metal from rocks

We have thus found out how copper, or rather the ores containing it, are mined. But how do enterprises subsequently obtain Cu itself?

There are three main methods for extracting copper from rocks:

electrolytic;

pyrometallurgical;

hydrometallurgical.

Pyrometallurgical flotation method

This technology is usually used to recover copper from rocks containing 1.5-2% Cu. Such material is subjected to enrichment by flotation method. In this case:

the ore is carefully ground to the finest powder;

mix the resulting material with water;

special flotation reagents, which are complex organic substances, are added to the mass.

Flotation reagents coat small grains of various copper compounds and impart non-wetting to them.

At the next stage:

substances that create foam are added to the water;

pass a strong air stream through the suspension.

Light dry particles of copper compounds as a result stick to the air bubbles and float to the top. The foam containing them is collected, squeezed out of the water and dried thoroughly. As a result, a concentrate is obtained, from which rough Cu is then isolated.

How copper is extracted from ore: beneficiation by roasting

The flotation method is used quite often in industry. But sometimes roasting technology is also used to enrich copper ore. This technique is most often used for ores containing large amounts of sulfur. In this case, the material is preheated to a temperature of 700-8000 °C. As a result, sulfides oxidize and the sulfur content in the rock decreases.

At the next stage, the ore prepared in this way is melted in shaft furnaces at a temperature of 14500 °C. Ultimately, when using this technology, matte is obtained - an alloy of copper and iron. This connection is further improved by blowing in converters. As a result, iron oxide turns into slag, and sulfur into SO4.

Obtaining pure copper: electrolysis

Using flotation and roasting methods, blister copper is obtained. Actually, such material contains about 91% Cu. To obtain purer copper, rough copper is subsequently subjected to refining.

In this case, thick anode plates are first cast from primary copper. Next:

take a solution of copper sulfate into the bath;

hang anode plates in the bathroom;

Thin sheets of pure copper are used as cathodes.

During the electrolysis reaction, copper dissolves at the anodes, and deposition occurs at the cathodes. Copper ions move towards the cathode, take electrons from it and transform into Cu+2+2e?>Cu atoms.

Copper sulfate is obtained by slow oxidation of sulfide ore with oxygen to copper sulfate CuS + 2O 2 > CuSO 4. Subsequently, the salt is leached with water.

Hydrometallurgical method

In this case, sulfuric acid is used to leach and enrich copper. As a result of the reaction when using this technology, a solution saturated with Cu and other metals is obtained. Copper is then isolated from it. Using this technique, in addition to blister copper, it is possible to obtain other metals, including precious ones. In any case, this technology is most often used to isolate Cu from rocks that are not too rich in it (less than 0.5%).

Copper at home

Isolation of this metal from ores saturated with it is therefore a relatively simple matter technologically. Some are therefore interested in how to mine copper at home. It will, however, be very difficult to obtain this metal from ore, clay, etc. with your own hands, without special equipment.

Some, for example, are interested in how to extract copper from clay with their own hands. Indeed, in nature there are deposits of this material, which is also rich in Cu. However, unfortunately, there are no known proven technologies for producing copper from clay at home.

You can try to isolate this metal with your own hands at home, perhaps only from copper sulfate. To do this, the latter must first be dissolved in water. Next, you should simply place some iron object into the resulting mixture. After some time, the latter - as a result of the substitution reaction - will be covered with a copper coating, which can then simply be cleaned off.

Metals in the copper subgroup are characterized by low chemical activity, for this reason they are found in the form of chemical compounds, as well as nuggets. Many centuries ago, copper could only be found in the form of sulfur compounds - chalcopyrite and chalcocite. This is because copper has a high chemical affinity for sulfur. Most primary ores contain copper in sulfide form - CuS.
Over time, especially under conditions of volcanic activity, under the influence of large amounts of oxygen, copper sulfides became oxides. Copper nuggets were formed in nature during the strong heating of oxidized sulfur ore. For example, if oxidized copper minerals and sulfur ores lay under a thick layer of rock, they were heated by natural disasters and earthly heat. In such natural “metallurgical workshops” colossal volumes of copper were smelted. A nugget weighing 420 tons was found in North America. However, this is rare; native copper on the planet is approximately 1%.

World copper deposits

A lot of copper, like other minerals, is located at the bottom of the oceans. At the bottom there are clusters of round stones containing approximately 0.5% copper. According to the analysis of geologists, the reserves of copper ore in the ocean reach 5 billion tons.
There are almost 250 copper minerals, but only 20 are used industrially. The main copper ores include:

• chalcocite - Cu 2 S, which contains 79.8% copper
• chalcopyrite - CuFeS 2, which contains 30% copper. This ore accounts for almost 50% of all copper deposits
• bornite - Cu 5 FeS 4, contains from 52 to 65% copper
• covellite - CuS, contains 64% copper.

According to genetic and industrial-geological parameters, copper deposits are:

• stratiform, which include copper shales and sandstones
• pyrites. This group includes native and vein copper
• hydrothermal
• igneous, including the most common ores of the copper-nickel type
• carbonate. This group includes iron-copper and carbonatite ores.

Copper reserves in the world

The largest amount of copper, approximately 65%, occurs in North and South America. European states have 15% of resources, Asian states - 11%, African states - 4.5%.
The largest confirmed copper reserves are recorded in Chile. Almost 20% of the world's reserves are located there. And in the USA - 12.7%. In addition to these countries, there is a lot of copper in Poland, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, as well as in Zaire, Zambia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Australia. In each of these states, according to experts, there are about 10 million tons.

Copper ore mining

Due to the low copper content in the ore, its extraction involves processing large volumes of rock. In order to smelt 1 ton of copper, over 200 tons of ore must be processed.
Copper mining methods:

• open method. If ore deposits are located close to the earth's surface, then they are developed in this way; the depth of open-pit mining is 150-300 m. The method is characterized by lower losses
• underground method. Using this method, ore is mined from a depth of 500 m, and sometimes from 800-1000 m.

There are five technological systems for field development:

• using self-propelled equipment. This technology is widely used
• using continuous vibration mechanisms
• using hardening goaf backfill. In this case, there is a continuous excavation of reserves of powerful deposits with minimal losses. With the use of such systems, losses are reduced by 3-4 times
• method of extracting ore in horizontal layers. When filling goafs (in underground mines) with hardening compounds, pipes lined with rubber or basalt are used, the service life of which is 50-100 times higher than that of steel
• cyclic-flow technology for the implementation of mining operations.

Copper production centers

Copper production centers are present in different regions of Russia. Kazakhstan boasts the richest ore deposits. There are also deposits in the Urals. According to the latest data, Russia ranks first in the world in copper ore mining.
Copper plants are being built in close proximity to the mines. The raw material factor is the determining component, due to the low content of concentrates in the feedstock. There are 11 copper complexes located in the Urals, producing 43% of the country’s copper. In addition to our own raw materials, production also uses materials imported from Kazakhstan. There are also waste recycling plants. For example, sulfur dioxide gases, as a byproduct of copper mining, are used to create sulfuric acid, which is then used to make fertilizers.