ABSTRACT
Copper, one of the few metals to occur as such in nature, has been known since ancient times. Today, however, it is extracted from ores containing copper oxide or copper sulphide. Sulphide ores are first ground and the unwanted material settled out by flotation; the dried material is then first smelted into anode copper and then purified by electrolysis. Oxide ores are first separated in an acid bath, and the copper-containing layer purified by electrolysis. Chile contains about one-third of known copper reserves and has been the world’s largest producer and exporter of copper since 1982, production rising to some 4.4m. metric tons in 2003. Leading Latin American producers in 2001 were Peru, the world’s fourth largest producer after Chile, the USA and Indonesia, and Mexico. Argentina and Brazil are relatively minor producers.
