Copper

why do we still mines copper?

Copper conducts electricity, bends easily, and is recyclable – which makes it a critical material for most forms of renewable energy, from wind and solar to electric vehicles. But when “clean energy” relies on the extraction of metals like copper, it can also pollute the surrounding environment.

Companies dig huge holes into the ground, going deeper than the water table. Heavy machinery kicks up dust, polluting the air. Chemicals are used to leach the mineral out of ore, and exposed water is forever contaminated. Some operations, like Freeport’s Tyrone mine, will have to pump water in perpetuity, even after there is no longer copper to be found, so that contaminated water from the mine site doesn’t flow back into the wider water table.

As demand for copper increases, local employment could grow.

• life cycle analysis of copper in iphone… could look up youtube of extraction of copper from e-waste or something….

• how much copper is there in an iphone, what do they do to copper to get it into the circuit board…

Copper is a tried and tested material – used since Roman times. It has excellent anti-bacterial qualities. On test, after 7 days of immersion in water, 80% of stainless steel and plastics were coated in a biofilm, while copper showed little or no biofilm. Biofilms are harbingers of E.coli 0157 and other microbiological bugs and pose a significant threat to human health. In a recent article Copper is called the Vital Element of Life – “Copper could be more important to the health of an unborn baby than folic acid, giving up smoking or abstaining from alcohol, say, scientists. Trace amounts of copper are present in all body tissues. It is needed to process oxygen, generate energy in cells, allow the nervous system to transmit signals, grow blood vessels and develop skin, tendons and hair.”