COPPER BY: PAIGE, QUINN, ATHENA AND HAILEY
COPPERBY:PAIGE,QUINN,ATHENAANDHAILEY
FIRSTHEREARESOMEINTERESTINGFACTSABOUTCOPPER
• Copper istheoldestknownmetal,discoveredover1000yearsago.
• Allgoldcontainssomelevelofcopper.Thisisbecausegold isasoftmetalandcopperisadded tostrengthen it.
• Copperwasusedtomakethestatueof libertyover179thousandpoundsofcopperwasused.
OURCOPPERJOURNEY
• WithourgivenamountofclasstimewewereabletocomeupwiththisamazingcopperPowerPoint.WecontactedDianeMitchell.
• FirstwecontactedTasekoMines.Weemailedthembuttheydidnotrespond.
• DianeMitchellfromBritanniaMinesresponded tous2dayslater.Weaskedifitwaspossible todoaskypecallbutour requestwasdeclined.
• DianeMitchellistheCuratorofEducation&CollectionsatBritanniaMinesMuseum.
HEREISTHEFIRSTEMAILTHATWESENT.
THEQUESTIONSTHATWEASKEDWERE…
• 1.Whatareafewmainthings thatcopperisusedfor?
• 2.Howdoyouaccessthecopper? (mining process)
• 3.Hasthecostofcopper increasedordecreasedoverthelastfewyears?Why?
• 4.Whatarethesafetystepswhenhandling copper?
• 5.WhydidBritanniaMinesclosetobeamuseum?
HEREISALLOFTHEANSWERDIANE SENT
Theanswerswereverylongsowedecidedtowritethemoutsoyoucouldviewitbetter.
1.WHATAREAFEWMAINTHINGSTHATCOPPERISUSEDFOR?
• 1.Copperisusedformanydifferent things.Itishardwearing,ductileandmalleable(meaning itcanbeworked intoshapeeasily)andagoodconductorofelectricity.Muchofitisusedincopperpipingandwiring.Forexamplethepipes inourhousesorthewiringused inourelectricaldevices.Copper isalsoagoodantimicrobialsubstanceandsoisusedinhealthcare.Italsomakesexcellentalloys.Brassinstruments forexamplecontaincopperasbrassisanalloyofcopperandzinc.Copperisusedinmany'greentechnologies', suchashybridcars.
2.HOWDOYOUACCESSTHECOPPER?(MININGPROCESS)
• 2.Muchcoppertodayisfound inthemineralchalcopyrite(copper sulphide).Thisistheprincipaloreofcopper.Itisamineraloften foundassociatedwithvolcanicareas(oratleastancientvolcanicregions).Thechalcopyriteismixedintothehostrockandmayonlybepresentintinyquantities,e.g.lessthan1%.Butthiscanstillbeenough tomakeiteconomic tomine.Generallytherockcontainingtheoreisminedoutandtakentoaprocessingplantwhereitwillbecrushedandgroundup toaconsistencyofsand.Acommonwaytoseparatethechalcopyriteandthewasterockistouseaprocesscalledfrothflotation.Thismixeswaterandchemicalsintothesandcreatingaslurry.Airbubblesareblownintoit.Thechalcopyritehasaproperty thatmakesitsticktothechemicalsinthebubbles anditrisestothesurfacewhereitcanbeskimmedoff.Thewasterockinsteadsinkstothebottom.
3.HASTHECOSTOFCOPPERINCREASEDORDECREASEDOVERTHELASTFEWYEARS?WHY?
• 3.Copperdemandgoesupanddown,alldepending onourglobalneeds.Forexampleduring theWorldWars,thedemandwentupasitwasneededforartillery.Ourmodern relianceonelectricaldevicesalsocausedaboost.Howeverwhentechnology findsalternativemetalsormaterials,orwhencountriesstockpilecopper, then itcanaffectthecosttobuyit.Inthelastfewyears,copperpriceshavedropped quitealotastherehasbeenalotofsurpluscoppermined,butnotenoughdemand forittobeused.
4.WHATARETHESAFETYSTEPSWHENHANDLINGCOPPER?
• 4.Copperisasafemetalandyoucanhandle itsafely
• Youwouldalsousethecommonsafetypercussions likesafetygoggles, specialtools,andheadandfacegear.Youmayalsoneedtowearabodysuitdepending onwhatyou’redoingwiththecopper.
5.WHYDIDBRITANNIAMINESCLOSETOBEAMUSEUM?
• 5.TheBritanniaMineclosedin1974forafewreasons.Partlyitwasbecomingmoreexpensivetomineastheminerswerehavingtogofurtheranddeeperunderground toaccessit.Buttherewerealsochanging taxandprovincialregulations thatmadeituneconomical tomine.Themuseumopened in1975.
THANKSFORWATCHINGOURPRESENTATION!
• HereisthelinktoBritanniaMineswebsiteformoreinfo:http://www.britanniaminemuseum.ca
• Theanswerstoallofthequestions weretheexactwordsofDianeMitchell.Hereisherinformation ifyouhavefurtherquestions:
• EDUCATION&COLLECTIONS
• CuratorofEducation&Collections
• DianeMitchell
• P:604-896-2233#255