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Copper in health
 From ore to copper 

Photo of open pit mine
Copper can be extracted from its ore by:

1. Traditional mining


2. Leaching


  • much less energy is use than in traditional mining
  • no waste gases are given off
  • it can be used on ores with as little as 0.1% copper - for this reason, leaching extraction is growing in importance.

Map of world production
Picture 4. Map of copper production. Compare this with the pie chart of production.
Interactive photo of minerals
Picture 5 . Cuprite mineral and a close up of malachite.
What's in an ore?


Mineral Formula Appearance
% copper in
Cuprite Cu2O Red, earthy
see Qn 2
Chalcocite Cu2S Dark grey, metallic
see Qn 2
Bornite Cu5FeS4 Golden brown, metallic
Malachite CuCO3Cu(OH)4 Bright green, earthy
Azurite 2CuCO3Cu(OH)4 Blue, glassy
Chalcopyrite CuFeS2 Golden yellow, metallic

The first step is to physically remove the gangue.

Interactive graphic of froth flotation
Picture 6 . Froth flotation.
Concentrating the ore




After this stage the enriched ore now contains about 25% copper by mass.

Question 2
Copper minerals are grouped as either sulphide or oxide. Look at the minerals below. In each case, decide which type of mineral it is. Then select the appropriate column.

For cuprite and chalcocite, calculate the % by mass of copper in each mineral (to the nearest whole percent).

Ore % Cu sulphide oxide

The molar masses are: Ar(Cu) = 64; Ar(O) = 16; Ar(S) = 32.

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