By the 7th millennium BC, copper and its possible use for smelting and forging various products had also become known in present-day Turkey. This metal became more widely used by the 6th-5th millennium BC, and in the 4th millennium BC it became the main material used for making weapons and various household items.
The first copper products were made from nuggets: if you hit them with a certain frequency, strength and speed, you can give the mineral the desired shape. This is possible due to the fact that under certain effort, the already soft and ductile metal heats up and becomes even more malleable. But until systematic copper mining was organized, artisans could use only randomly found native minerals for work, which significantly limited the possibilities of using the metal.
Copper mining and processing on an “industrial” scale began in Egypt in about 3,700-3,900 BC in the Sinai Peninsula. Later, by the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, large copper ore deposits were found in Cyprus. After the Romans conquered the island, they gave the metal they mined here the name aes cyprium, which eventually became known as cuprum (Cu).
In present-day Russia, the first copper mines were discovered around the end of the 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC. The remains of copper mines are still found in Siberia, Altai, the Urals and the Caucasus.
Despite the fact that copper has been systematically mined since ancient times, industrial metal smelting in Russia began only in the 15th century AD, after the discovery of the Cilem copper mines. The discovery of these deposits was the impetus for the construction of the first non-ferrous metallurgy enterprise in the history of the Russian state. Unfortunately, the plant did not last long. The lack of communication routes and the poverty of the ore made such copper mining unprofitable and soon led to the closure of the enterprise. Attempts to restore the mines continued until the second half of the 17th century, but were unsuccessful: the ore was scarce and its quality was very low.
Copper is a ductile and soft metal that is resistant to corrosion. It has low resistivity and high thermal conductivity. It is the latest qualities that are highly valued in electrical engineering. Currently, more than 40% of all copper produced is used for the manufacture of cable products: single-core and multi-core cables, wires and other conductors. Pure copper is valued in this industry, since the addition of any impurities reduces the electrical conductivity of the metal.
In addition, pure copper is used for the production of heat sinks, including radiators, tubes for cooling systems, and heat distribution plates. Copper has twice the thermal conductivity of copper used for the same purposes aluminum. But in order to save money, since copper is much more expensive than aluminum, radiators, including those used in microprocessor technology, are often made of bimetallic: the core of such structures is made of copper, and the remaining elements are made of aluminum.
But copper is widely used not only in its pure form — it is the main component of many alloys, including precision. The most famous copper alloys are:
A distinctive feature of copper is the absence of sparks when in contact with steel surfaces, so it is widely used in the manufacture of tools for work in explosive conditions. For example, when repairing gas pipelines, bronze tools are used or steels, covered with a layer of copper.
According to various estimates by scientists, from 80% to 95% of all copper ever mined and produced continues to be in circulation in the form of finished products or is being melted down to make new products. Due to its versatility and durability, copper is called the “eternal human metal”.
