Copper prices

Restriction of metals production by operating mines will likely be necessary for several years as consumption from current metal stockpiles catches up with stockpiled inventories and mine production. Even recent copper purchases by China have only slightly drawn down stockpiles, and are reflected in modest increases in short-term copper prices. The obvious global crisis has also stemmed demand, although precious metal markets are moving ahead, albeit sluggishly. 

Unfortunately, low copper prices and rising production costs forced the closure of both the mine and plant after some 70 years of operations. Nevertheless, the five-star safety guys and gals all left for jobs in the safety arena and are doing very well today. Everyone who was involved will testify that this was truly an example of a massive safety culture change. 

Trade Service, Copper Pricing 2006, http //www.tradeservice.com/ copper pricing/index.htm, accessed September 20, 2006. 

In the example used for the basis of cost estimates in this chapter, the copper content of concentrates is 0.5 per cent and for a blast furnace slag of 0.15 per cent copper, recovery into matte would be around 80 per cent, which would yield 0.017 tonnes of copper matte containing 40 per cent copper per tonne of lead produced. Taking smelting charges and penalties at US 1000/t of contained copper and the LME copper prices at US 7500/t, the return for copper matte is US 44/t of lead produced. 

In the U nited States, Arizona is the largest producer of copper, followed by U tab. New Mexico, Nevada and Montana. Many of the deposits in North America are, however, of a high-cost type with low copper contents. Because of this, more interest has been devoted to deposits in South America, China and Indonesia, countries that have shown the greatest increases in copper mine production in recent years. Annual production in the United States has decreased by 25% since 1996 owing to high production costs, falling copper prices and a weak demand, but the country is still second among the producer countries. 

Oberbeck, S. (2006, February 13). Glittering like gold Kennecott Utah Copper earned 311 M in 2005 as prices soared Copper prices are expected to fell. Salt Lake City Tribune, p. BIO. 

In spite of the many appHcations for copper(II) fluoride, demand is restricted to 1 to 10 kg lots. It is available ia the United States from Advance Research Chemicals, Aldrich Chemicals, Atomergic, Aesar, Johnson/Matthey, Cerac Corp., and PCR Corp. The 1993 price for the anhydrous copper(II) fluoride varied from 400 to 600/kg depending on the amount required. The dihydrate is available at 22/kg. 

Fig. 2. Metal price in constant 1987 dollars since 1909 for (a) (D) iron (hot-roUed steel bars), (O) alurninurn, and (A) lead (b) ( ) copper, (I...

The New York Commodity Exchange (Comex) prices for cathode copper in January 1993, 1994, and 1994 were 2.218/kg, 1.844/kg, and 3.084/kg, respectively. The primary uses for copper metal and alloy are constmction, 42% electrical/electronic, 24% industrial machinery, 13% transportation equipment, 11% and consumer/general products, 10%. Copper compounds for use in agriculture and industry account for about 1% of total copper consumption. 

The price of beryUium oxide powder was 154/kg in 1991. The beryUium content of copper-beryUium master aUoy was 352/kg. Pure beryUium powder was priced at 615/kg whereas simple shapes in vacuum hot-pressed material were priced at about 685/kg in 1991. 

Bismuth is referred to as a minor metal. It is not generally mined for its own intrinsic value, rather it is mined primarily as a by-product of lead or copper ores. In China, however, bismuth can be found ia tungsten ores. In BoHvia the metal has been mined for its own value, but this has not happened on a consistent basis over the years because fluctuations ia the bismuth price have at times made it uneconomical to recover. 

Treatment of Industrial Wastes. The alkaline nature and inexpensive price of lime make it ideal for treatment of acid waste Hquors (6), including waste pickle Hquids from steel plants, wastes from metal plating operations, eg, chrome and copper plating, acid wastes from chemical and explosives plants, and acid mine wastewaters. 

Oxidation of Straight-Chain Alcohols. Two methods have been developed. One uses an air oxidation catalyzed by a metal, eg, copper, platinum, etc, whereas the other is a caustic oxidation. Generally, however, fatty alcohols are priced higher on the world market than their corresponding fatty acids and, consequently, these conversions are uneconomical. 

Exploration. Because it takes years to bring a mine into production, significant new copper deposits are sought and known reserves are expanded more or less continually. These exploration expenditures are highly sensitive to metal market conditions, and, as of this writing, gold is at a better price level than copper. Worldwide exploration continues, however, even after discovery of a deposit and the start of mining. 

The price of the compounds of copper varies with the price of the metal and the grade of the product. Average Commodities Exchange (COMEX)... 

Second, there are considerable short-term fluctuations in material prices. Copper dropped 15% in the month of September 1993 gold, in the same period, rose 38%. Aluminium changed in price by nearly 10% in a single day in December 1993. These are large changes, important to the purchaser of materials. 

Fig. 2.1. The fluctuations in price of copper and of rubber between September 1993 and May 1994.

Nickel/silicon alloy (10% silicon, 3% copper, and 87% nickel) is fabricated only as castings and is rather brittle, although it is superior to the iron/silicon alloy with respect to strength and resistance to thermal and mechanical shock. It is comparable to the iron/silicon alloy in corrosion resistance to boiling sulfuric acid solutions at concentrations above 60%. Therefore, it is chosen for this and other arduous duties where its resistance to thermal shock justifies its much higher price compared with iron/silicon alloys. 

Solar water heating declined in Southern California in the 1920s due to the development of natural gas, but it continued in Florida where natural gas was very expensive. In 1941 more than half Miami s population had solar water heaters, and more than 80 percent of new homes built then were equipped with solar water heaters. By the end of the 1950s in Florida, solar water heating was displaced by electricity as the price dropped and the storage tanks of solar water heaters failed because of galvanic corrosion from connecting steel tanks to copper collectors. 

Two options are being developed at the moment. The first is to produce 1,2-propanediol (propylene glycol) from glycerol. 1,2-Propanediol has a number of industrial uses, including as a less toxic alternative to ethylene glycol in anti-freeze. Conventionally, 1,2-propanediol is made from a petrochemical feedstock, propylene oxide. The new process uses a combination of a copper-chromite catalyst and reactive distillation. The catalyst operates at a lower temperature and pressure than alternative systems 220°C compared to 260°C and 10 bar compared to 150 bar. The process also produces fewer by-products, and should be cheaper than petrochemical routes at current prices for natural glycerol. The first commercial plant is under construction and the process is being actively licensed to other companies. 

Between 1962 and 1982, pennies were made of brass, which is an alloy composed of 95% copper and 5% zinc. In 1982, the rising price of copper led to a change in the composition of the penny. Beginning in 1982, pennies have been made of zinc plated with copper. These pennies contain 2.5% copper and 97.5% zinc. In this experiment, the two different types of pennies will represent two isotopes of an element. 

Another important consideration pertains to the metal content of the deposit. A deposit with a content of iron of about 20% can have little value as an iron ore since there are several deposits with 30-50% iron. Earlier, a copper ore with a minimum of 5% copper was regarded or accepted as a copper ore. However, today, thanks to advancements in technology, rocks with as little as 0.5% copper are mined and processed economically despite the fact that the price of copper, in comparison with those of some other metals, might be showing a downward trend. It is possible that in the future, other resources, which are not considered to be worth exploiting today (such as the manganese nodules or the clays), would become acceptable ores for manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt, and aluminum. 

Adivan P. Coffee, soy, oil prices soar while copper falls. Reuters Business Report. January 29, 1997. 

Dalton, R. F. Diaz, G. Price, R. Zunkel, A. D. The cuprex metal extraction process—recovering copper from sulfide ores. JOM-J. Miner. Met. Mater. Soc. 1991, 43, 51-56. 

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