Copper was the first metal used by us and
copper mining industry encompasses all activities from extraction to business. The overall development of the copper mining industry is directly linked to some factors like electricity and transportation. Beside these two factors, some other significant elements directly or indirectly linked behind the growth of copper mining industry are miners(mineworkers), machineries, and surrounding environments.
Potentiality of copper mining industry
Copper is an element of good tensile strength and is highly resistant to corrosion. Copper is a non-magnetic element. It is because of these properties, copper is widely used by ourselves and has huge business potentiality in the present day market.
Use of copper
Some practical applications of copper include the use of copper in construction, electronic and electrical industries. Examples are electrical and heating appliances, tubes, telecommunications, refrigeration, pipes, and other household appliances.
Copper mining industry entities, activities and economic viability
One of the major activities of copper mining industry include extraction of copper from copper mines.
In most of the cases copper is closely mixed with sulphur and iron to form sulphide minerals, like chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), Bornite (Cu5FeS4), covellite (CuS) and chalcocite (Cu2S) etc. Out of these, the most commonly obtainable ore is chalcopyrite (CuFeS2 ). Almost half of the total amount of copper produced by this chalcopyrite mineral.
Economically, this process of extraction from chalcopyrite is the effective one, as during the process of extraction from chalcopyrite ore to pure copper metal, sulfur dioxide gas is produced as a biproduct of copper extraction and that sulfur dioxide gas is converted into sulfuric acid, which is eventually utilized for the extraction process.
Crisis of copper mining industry
Copper can be regarded as the most widely used metal in the present day market, but over time, increased demand for copper has turned to marginal forms of copper to carry on the supply line. The other most important thing is that these marginal copper sources are also very difficult to discover. For this reason, some rules and regulations are enforced. These rules vary according to the abundance and environmental conditions of that nation.