Copper natural resources

Proposed copper criteria for the protection of natural resources and human health... 

This section demonstrates that (1) free ionic copper (Cu2+) is the most toxic chemical species of copper and that copper bioavailability is modified by many biological and abiotic variables (2) copper metabolism and sensitivity to copper of poikilotherms differs from that of mammals and (3) copper interactions with inorganic and organic chemicals are substantial and must be considered when evaluating copper hazards to natural resources. 

Table 3.8 Proposed Copper Criteria for the Protection of Natural Resources and Human Health...

Puro M., KipMe W. B., Knapp R. A., MacDonald T. J., and Stuparyk R. A. (1995) Inco s Copper Cliff tailings area. In Proc. Sudbury 95, Canmur, Natural Resources, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Mining and the Environment, vol. 1, pp. 181-191. 

We fool ourselves, however, if we dwell on energy alone. The uses of all natural resources are intertwined. Oil is of little use without engines built of iron, copper, zinc, and other metals. Farmlands will yield maximum crops only if they are tilled by tractors emd plows and fertilized with compounds of phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium. A failure in the supply of one resource will inevitably influence the use of others. Viewing the panoply of natural resources, we see that one group, metals, occupies a unique position. Without metals we could not build machines to replace human muscle. Without metals we could use little of the available energy. Metals are, in effect, the enzymes of industry. If supplies of metals are limited, then society must ultimately be limited too. It is my contention that the distribution of the chemical elements in nature means, inevitably, that there are natural limits to supplies of metals, and that these limits are much more important to the future of society than limits on energy. I also contend that, with sufficient work, the limits can be predicted. It is the piu-pose of this paper, therefore, to explore briefly the way metals occur and to attempt to place in perspective the limitations they may ultimately impose on us. 

Fig. 9.1 Natural resource extraction, concentration, and residue generation. Example raw copper (after Sutter (1991)...

Though Finland lacked deposits of coal, oil and many minerals, it did possess natural resources suitable for chemical production. In the 1910s, a new, rich copper mine at Outokumpu was opened its ore contained sulphur pyrites, among other things. However, the most valuable resources for the chemical industry were timber and water power. Processing staple wood products gave the forest industries opportunities to extract various chemicals as byproducts. Hydroelectricity was a new energy source for the electrochemical industries at the time. 

The potential mineral resources of the Transantarctic Mountains, including metallic and radioactive minerals as well as coal in the Beacon Supergroup, were discussed in Section 11.5. We now turn to the Dufek intrusion which contains several important metals Iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, copper, cobalt, nickel, and members of the platinum group of elements. Although the Dufek intrusion is an attractive target for mineral exploration. Ford (1990) emphasized that no minable deposits of any kind are currently known to exist there. The scientific merits of drilling the Dufek intrusion were discussed in 1979 by the Committee on Eneigy and Natural Resources of the US. Senate, but these discussions were terminated becanse of concern about contamination of the environment. 

Titanium is one of the most important transition metals used in catalytic enantioselective reactions. Whereas rhodium, palladium, copper and ruthenium are rather rare in Nature, and the depletion of natural resources is evoked for these, titanium does not suffer from lack of availability. In fact, it is the 9th most abundant element on Earth and one of the cheapest transition metals. The products resulting from the hydrolysis of titanium complexes are nontoxic and do not cause any environmental problems. This low toxicity has allowed titanium to be used for multiple applications, including medical uses (prostheses, sun screens, etc.). 

Over time, mankind has evolved a great deal from living in caves to our great towns. Every town has buildings, electricity, automobiles and an overall grade of infrastructure. Every single person is so used to it is rare to think about it. When we do, the first conclusion is that all of this is possible thought the use of natural resources, such as mineral resources. Mineral resources as petroleum, charcoal, cement, iron, copper, and several others have one major similarity they all demand explosives in order to be extracted from their natural state. 

Humans have at all times made use of the components of the earth s crust. As a consequence of the discovery that even rare materials may have technically interesting properties, there has been a drive to widen the exploitation of natural resources. New separation methods have made the extraction of desirable elements possible. Such rare elements are often obtained as by-products of the mining of common ores. Gold and platinum, for instance, are present in the anode sludge from electrolytic copper refining. The mineral molybdenite, a sulfide, is roasted at 800°C to the oxide from which molybdenum metal and its alloys are produced. During the roasting process the oxide of a rare element, rhenium, volatilizes and its compounds can be extracted from the gas phase as a by-product. Several examples of this type are treated in the different element chapters of this book. 

Minnesota Dept, of Natural Resources [www.dnr.state.mn.us] X-rays from a study by Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator, showed that lead fragments travel inside a body far beyond the bullet s primary wound channel. It never dawned on me that it might be an issue, said Cornicelli. Copper bullets leave no lead. ... 

Deposits. Selenium forms natural compounds with 16 other elements. It is a main constituent of 39 mineral species and a minor component of 37 others, chiefly sulfides. The minerals are finely disseminated and do not form a selenium ore. Because there are no deposits that can be worked for selenium recovery alone, there are no mine reserves. Nevertheless, the 1995 world reserves, chiefly in nonferrous metals sulfide deposits, are ca 70,000 metric tons and total resources are ca 130,000 t (24). The principal resources of the world are in the base metal sulfide deposits that are mined primarily for copper, zinc, nickel, and silver, and to a lesser extent, lead and mercury, where selenium recovery is secondary. 

STARCH. Starches are used as components and/or processing aids in the production of resources such as aluminum, paper, copper, water, and oil. The use of this natural polymeric material is based on its... 

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