Copper is typically mined in open pits, like the one shown above in Santa Rita, New Mexico. The Chino mine is the third oldest operating mine in the world, and the site was a source for Native Americans and settlers before the modern day mining operations started in 1910. Copper is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and is used primarily for electrical circuits and as a building material. As the number of electronics produced has grown over time and more houses/buildings are created, the demand for copper has increased significantly.
Chart A shows the amount of each chemical that is allowed in water in New Mexico and[[img]]
Chart B shows the amount of each chemical found in groundwater near the mine by the State of New Mexico.[[img]]
Copper is found in rock with many other substances that need to be removed to get to the copper. These waste materials are called tailings and contain substances that can pollute the environment if water runs over them and seeps into the ground or breaks out of the lakes the mine has set up to contain the waste. When rains or floods come, spillages of the water that’s made acidic by these chemicals can happen. In all the copper mines looked at by the watchdog group Earthworks.org, 100% of mines in the U.S. had spillage events. Below is a list of the spills known to have happened from the Chino mine from 1986 to 2007:[[img]]
The below graph was compiled by the USGS (United States Geographical Survey), to show how much copper was used by the top consumers of copper in the world.[[img]]
The below chart below shows the population growth in China, India and the United States from 1960-2015.[[img]]
Copper is mined throughout the world. The below chart shows the copper production from the top countries in the world.
When a product is produced in one country and needs to travel to another, it’s primarily carried by large cargo ships across the ocean. Cargo ships are effective in transporting large amounts of goods to people who need them but are also responsible for noise pollution under the water, 3 to 4 percent of CO2 emissions,18 to 30 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions, and 9 percent of sulfur oxides emissions according to a 2009 study
References:
Cunningham, C., & Flanagan, D. M. (2020, January 14). Facts About Copper. LiOA Electrical Equipment Co., Ltd. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.lioacopper.com/facts-about-copper-12-25.html
Gestring, B. (2020, July 11). U.S. Copper Porphyry Mines Report. Lioa Copper. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.patagoniaalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Porphyry_Copper_Mines_Track_Record_-_8-2012-1.pdf
Global Undiscovered Copper Resources Estimated at 3.5 Billion Metric Tons | U.S. Geological Survey. (2014, March 6). USGS.gov. Retrieved December 13, 2022, from https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/global-undiscovered-copper-resources-estimated-35-billion-metric-tons
Mashman. (2003, 12 20). Chino Copper Mine. Wikimedia. Retrieved 12 13, 2022, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chino_copper_mine.jpg
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