Handbook of Extractive Metallurgy

492

8.1 Introduction
Copper, the red metal, apart from gold the
only metallic element with a color different
from a gray tone, has been known since the
early days of the human race. It has always
been one of the significant materials, and today it is the most frequently used heavy nonferrous metal. The utility of pure copper is
based on its physical and chemical properties,
above all, its electrical and thermal conductivity
(exceeded only by silver), its outstanding
ductility and thus excellent workability, and
its corrosion resistance (a chemical behavior
making it a half-noble metal).
Its common alloys, particularly brass and
bronze, are of great practical importance. Copper compounds ores are distinguished by
bright coloration, especially reds, greens, and
blues. Copper in soil is an essential trace element for most creatures, including humans.
Etymology. According to mythology, the goddess Venus (or Aphrodite) was born on the
Mediterranean island of Cyprus, formerly
Kurrpoc (Greek), where copper was exploited
millennia before Christ. Therefore, in early
times the Romans named it cyprium, later
called cuprum. This name is the origin of copper and of the corresponding words in most
Romance and Germanic languages, e.g., cobre
(Spanish and Portuguese), cuivre (French),
Kupfer (German), koper (Dutch), and koppar
(Swedish).
A "cross with handle", from the Egyptian
epoch, was called the mirror of Venus. In the
alchemistic period, this sign meant the metal
copper. Even now in astronomy it designates
the planet Venus and in biology stands for "female".
History [21-24]. The first metals found by
Neolithic man were gold and copper, later silver and meteoric iron. The earliest findings of
copper are presumed to be nearly nine millennia old and came from the region near Konya
in southern Anatolia (Turkey). Until recently
the six-millennia-old copper implements
from Iran (Tele Siallc) were presumed to be the

oldest. In the Old World, copper has been

worked and used since approximately:
7000 B.C.
4000 B.C.
3000 B.C.
2600 B.C.
2500 B.C.
2200 B.C.
2000 B.C.
1500 B.C.

Anatolia
Egypt, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Iran, and
Turkestan
Aegean, India
Cyprus
Iberia, Transcaucasis, and China
Central Europe
British Isles

Scandinavia

Empirical experience over millennia has

led to an astonishing knowledge of copper
metallurgical operations:
Native copper was hardened by hammering
(cold working) and softened by moderate
heating (annealing).
Heating to higher temperatures (charcoal
and bellows) produced molten copper and
made possible the founding into forms of
stone, clay, and later metal.
Similar treatment of the conspicuously colored oxidized copper ores formed copper
metal.
The treatment of sulfide copper ores (chalcopyrite), however, did not result in copper
metal, but in copper matte (a sulfidic intermediate). Not before 2000 B.C. did people
succeed in converting the matte into copper
by repeated roasting and smelting.
In early times, bronze (coppertin alloy)
was won from complex ores, the Bronze
Age beginning ca. 2800 B.C. At first, copper ores were smelted with tin ores; later,
bronze was produced from metallic copper
and tin. Brass (copperzinc alloy) was
known ca. 1000 B.C. and became widely
used in the era of the Roman Empire.
In Roman times, most copper ore was
mined in Spain (Rio Tinto) and Cyprus. With
the fall of the Roman Empire, mining in Europe came to a virtual halt. In Germany (Saxony), mining activities were not resumed until
920 A.D. During the Middle Ages, mining and
winning of metals expanded from Germany
over the rest of Europe. In the middle of the
16th century, the current knowledge of metals
was compiled in a detailed publication [23] by
Georgius Agricola, De Re Metallica (1556).

Copper

Independent of the Old World, the Indians

of North America had formed utensils by
working native copper long before the time of
Christ, although the skills of smelting and
casting were unknown to them. On the other
hand, the skill of copper casting was known in
Peru ca. 500 A.D., and in the 15th century the
Incas knew how to win the metal from sulfide
ores.
Around 1500, Germany was the world
leader in copper production, and the Fugger
family dominated world copper trade. By
1800, England had gained first place, processing ores from her own sources and foreign pits
into metal. Near 1850, Chile became the most
important producer of copper ores, and toward
the end of the last century, the United States
had taken the world lead in mining copper ores
and in production of refined copper.
Technical development in the copper industry
has made enormous progress in the last 120
years. The blast furnace, based on the oldest
principle of copper production, was continually developed into more efficient units. Neve r t h e l e s s , a f t e r Wor l d War I , i t w a s
increasingly replaced by the reverberatory ftrnace, first constructed in the United States.
Since the end of World War II, this furnace has
been superseded slowly by the flash smelting
furnace invented in Finland. Recently, several
even more modern methods, especially from
Canada and Japan, have begun to compete
with the older processes.
An important development in producing
crude metal was the application of the Bessemer converter concept to copper metallurgy
by Mantles and David (France, 1880): this
principle is still the most widely used method
for copper converting in the world.
Over time the requirements for copper purity have become increasingly stringent. The
invention and development of electrolysis by
J. B. Elkington (England, 1865) and E. Wohlwill (Germany, 1876) made refining of highpurity copper possible.
In addition, the quantity of copper produced has increased immensely (Table 8.1).
Since 1880, ca. 275 x 10 6 t was mined between 1800 and 1900.

493
Table 8.1: World mine production of copper (approximate, from several sources).
Production,
Production,
Year
Year
1700
1800
1850
1900
1950
1955

103 t 9
1
7 57
450
2500
3100

1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1984

103 t
4200
5000
6400
7300
7900
8100

8.2 Physical Properties

Most properties of metallic copper depend on
the degree of purity and on the source of the
metal. Variations in properties are caused by:
Grade of copper, i.e., the oxygen content:
tough-pitch, deoxidized copper, oxygenfree copper
Content of native impurities (e.g., arsenic)
or remnants of additives (e.g., phosphorus),
which form solid solutions or separate
phases at the grain boundaries
Thermal and mechanical pretreatment of the
metal, which lead to states such as cast copper, hot-rolled copper, cold-worked (hard)
copper, annealed (soft) copper, and sintered
copper
These property differences are caused by the
detects in the crystal lattice. Two groups of
properties are to be distinguished:
Low dependence on crystal lattice detects,
e.g., caloric and thermodynamic properties,
magnetic behavior, and nuclear characteristics
High dependence on defects, e.g., electrical
and thermal conductivity, plastic behavior,
kinetic phenomena, and resistance to corrosion
The variations in properties are caused either by physical lattice imperfections (dislocations, lattice voids, and interstitial atoms) or
by chemical imperfections (substitutional
solid solutions).
Atomic and Nuclear Properties. The atomic
number of copper is 29, and the atomic mass
A, is 63.546 0.003 (IUPAC, 1983). Copper
c ons ists of t wo na tur a l isotope s, " Cu
(68.94%) and 65Cu (31.06%). There are also

Handbook of Extractive Metallurgy

494

nine
syntheti
c
radioact
ive
isotopes
with
atomic
masses
between
59 and
68,
of
which
67
Cu has
the
longest
half-life,
ca. 58.5
h.
Crystal
Structur
e.
At
moderat
e
pressure
s,
copper
crystalli
zes from
low
temperat
ures up
to
its
melting
point in
a cubicclosestpacked
(ccp)
lattice,
type Al
(also F1
or
Cu)
with the
coordina
tion
number
12.
Xray
structure
analysi s

y
iL

a
M
i
A
t
A
t

D
T
hC
o
C
aC
a

T
hT
h

t,

solid copper 20
600
900
1083
liquid copper 1083
1200

q heating
u causes
T
a the
embrittl
ement.
Howeve
r, such
an effect
can be
desirable
when
free
cutting
is
P required
.
At
subzero
temperat
ures,
copper
is
a
highstrength
material
without
cold
brittleness.
The
changes
in
typical
mechani
cal
properties such
as
tensile
strength,
elongati
on, and
hardness
by heat
treatmen
t result
from
recrystalli7atio
n [25].
The
depende

Copper

495

nce of
recrystal
lization
temper
ature
and
grain
size on
the
duratio
n
of
heating
the
amount
of
previou
s cold
deforma
tion and
the
degree
of
purity
of
copper
can be
determi
ned
from
diagram
s. The
recrysta
llization
tempera
ture is
ca. 140
C for
highpurity
copper
and is
200300 C
for
commo
n types
of
copper.
A low
recrysta
llization
tempera
ture is
usually
advanta

g
e

c 1 bar)
o 2731273 K

T
a (0-1000
C) at
100 kPa
M
eV Coefficient
of linear
a thermal
S expansio
p n
a 273n 373 K
a (0n
d 100C)
273-673
K
(01 400 C)
0 between
0 273 and
1173 K
k (0-900
P C)
a
Thermal
A conductivit
v
y
e
r at 293 K
a (20 C)
g
e
s
p
e
c
i
f
i
c
h
e
a
t
2
7
3
5
7
3
K
(
0
3
0
0

C
)
a
t
1
0
0
k
P
a
(

Unit
K
K
J/g
J/g
Pa

Jg

Value
1356 (1083 C)
(2595 C)
2868 210
4810
0.073
0.385
0.494
0.411
0.437

J g-11C-1

Electri
cal
proper
ties. In

practice
,
the
most
importa
nt
propert
y
of
copper
is
its
high
electrical
conduct
ivity;
among
all
metals
only
silver
is
a
better
conduc
tor.
Both
electri
cal
conduc
tivity
and
therma

16.9 x 10-6
17.9 x 10-6
19.8 x 10-6
Wm-IK-1

394

l
conduc
tivity
are
connec
ted
with
the
Wiede
mannFranz
relation
and
show
strong
depend
ence
on
temper
ature
(Table
8.4).
The
old
Americ
an
standar
d,
100%
IACS
(Intern
ational
Anneal
ed
Copper
Standa
rd),
corres
ponds
to
58.0
MS/m
at 20
C, and
it
is
still
widely
used in
the
United
States.
The
corresp

o
n
d
i
n
g
e
l
e
c
t
r
i
c
a
l
r
e
s
i
s
t
i
v
i
t
y
(
p
)
i
s
1
.
7
2
4
1
x
1
0
4

5
2

c
m
,
a
n
d
t
h
e
l
e
s
s
u
s
u
a
l
r
e
s
i
s
t
i
v
i
t
y
b
a
s
e
d
o
n
w
e
i
g
h
t

(densit
y
of
8.89
g/cm 3,
IEC) is
0.1533
Wgm 1
. The
correspondi
ng
temper
ature
coeffici
ents
are
0.0068
x 10-8
Sim K-1
(dp/dT)
and
0.00393
K-1 (p-1
dp/dT).
The
theoreti
cal
conduc
tivity
at 20
C is
nearly
60.0
MS/m
or
103.4%
IACS,
and today
comme
rcial
oxygen
-free
copper
(e.g.
C1020
0
or
CuOF)
has a
conduc
tivity
of
101%

IACS.
The
factors
that
increas
e the
strengt
h decrease
electri
cal
conduc
tivity:
cold
workin
g and
elemen
ts that
form
solid
solutio
ns.
Ele

m
e

O
T
hT
h

T
a Temperature
K

17
73
113
173
273
293
373
473
573
973

-256
-200
-160
-100

8
.
3
C
h
e
m
i
c
a
l
P
r
o
p
e
r
t
i
e
s
I
n

20
100
200
300
700

nd
t subgrou
113
h p
(togethe
e
r with
silver
p and
e gold);
r therefor
i e,
it
o behaves
d as
a
i typical
c transitio
n metal.
t It
a appears
b in
l oxidatio
e n states
, +1
to
+4, its
c compou
o nds are
p colored,
it
p and
e tends to
r form
complex
ions.
i
At
s relativel
y
low
p tempera
l ture,
a copper(I
c I) is the
e most
d stable
state,
i but
n above
800 C,
copp
per(I)
e
predomi
nates,
r
which is
i
significa
o
nt
for
d
pyromet
allurgic
4 al
process
a es;

oxidatio

states

496

Handbook of Extractive Metallurgy

+3 and +4 were discovered in recent

years in some coordination
compounds.
The distribution of the 29 electrons
is 1s2 2s22p63s23p63d14s1. From this
electron configuration, [Ar] 3d m4s1, is
derived the copper(I) ion (Cu+) with a
complete M shell (18 electrons). The
copper(II) ion (Cu 2) originates from
the configuration [Ar]3d 9 4s 2 , which
has a slightly higher energy level.
Species

Coordination

with copper nder dry conditions,

the rate of attack inreases
considerably in the presence of moisture. Copper has a high affinity
for free halogens, molten sulfur, or
hydrogen sulfide.

Radius, tun

The valence states and their radii

determine the space lattice of alloys
and compounds:
1
2
6
6

Cuu

cu2

0.128
0.096

The standard electrode potentials (at

25 C) of copper correspond to the
relative stabilities of the three species:
Cu*
+0.153 V I

V
Cu

0337 V
These
values
[31],
or
thermochemical
data
[32],
in
comparison with those of other elements, establish copper as a relatively
noble metal.
Behavior in Air. Copper in dry air at
room temperature slowly develops a
thin protective film of copper(1) oxide.
On heating to a high temperature in the
presence of oxygen, copper orms first
copper(I) oxide, then copper(II) oxide,
both of which cover the metal as a loose
scale.
In the atmosphere, the surface of
copper oxidizes in the course of years
to a mixture of green basic salts, the
It
patina, which consists chiefly of the
basic sulfate, with some basic arbonate.
(In a marine atmosphere, there is also
some basic chloride.) Such covering
layers protect the metal.
ehavior versus Diverse Substances.
While many substances scarcely react

Passivity

1.0 Corrosion
Cu2*

05.6H'4e"c2H2O

Copper

Therefore, copper is essentially

not attacked by nonoxidizing acids,
such
as
dilute
sulfuric,
hydrochloric, phosphoric, or acetic
and other organic acids.
Dissolution of copper is possible
either by oxidation or by formation
of complexed copper ions. Thus,
copper is soluble in oxidizing acids,
such as nitric acid, hot concentrated
sulfuric acid, and chromic acid, or
in nonoxidizing acids containing an
oxidizing agent such as oxygen or
hydrogen peroxide. For example,
acetic acid attacks copper in the
presence of atmospheric oxygen to
form verdigris, a green or greenishblue pigment. In hydrometallurgical
practice, metal compounds such
as
iron(III) sulfate, iron(111)
chloride, and copper(H) chloride are
suitable oxidizing agents.
The other method of dissolving
copper is through formation of
complex ions. The best reagents for
this purpose are aqueous solutions of
ammonia and ammonium salts or
alkali-metal cyanides. However
copper is essentially not attacked by
alkali-metal hydroxide solutions.
Fresh water has practically no
corrosive effect on copper, and
seawater has only a small effect but
wastewater containing organic sulfur-bearing compounds can be
corrosive.
2

',A -0.5
-1.0

CuO
CuOV
Cup
._s\
Immunity

4
12

6
8
10
14
pH-.
Figure 8.1: Pourbaix diagram for copper in
highly dilute aqueous solution at normal
temperature [35].

Corrosion [33-34]. M. J. N.
Pourbaix has developed potential pH equilibrium
diagrams for
metals in dilute aqueous solutions
[35]. Such

497

graphs give a rough indication of the

feasibility
of
electrochemical
reactions. Figure 8.1 shows the
behavior of copper at room temperature
and atmospheric pressure. The CuH20
system contains three fields of different
character:
Corrosion, in which the metal is
attacked
Immunity, in which reaction is
thermodynamically impossible
Passivity, in which there is no cause
of kinetic phenomena
Gases and Copper [36-37]. An exact
knowledge of the behavior of solid and
liquid copper toward gases is important
for production and use of the metal.
With the exception of hydrogen, the
solubility of gases in molten copper
follows Henry's law: the solubility is
proportional to the partial pressure.
Oxygen dissolves in molten copper
as copper(1) oxide up to a
concentration
of
12.65%
Cu 20
(corresponding to 1.4% 0) (also see
Figure 8.22). Copper(I) oxide in solid
copper forms a separate solid phase.
Sulfur dioxide dissolves in molten
copper and reacts:
6Cu + SO2 = Cu2S + 2Cu20

Hydrogen is considerably soluble in

liquid copper, and after solidification
some remains dissolved in the solid
metal, although copper does not form
a hydride. The solubility follows
Sievert's law, being proportional to the
square root of the partial pressure
because the H2 molecules dissociate
into H atoms on dissolution. Hydrogen
has high diffusibility because of its
extremely small atomic volume.
Hydrogen dissolved in oxygenbearing copper reacts with copper(I)
oxide at high temperatures to form

steam:
Cu20 + 211 2Cu + H 2 0 (0

Steam is not soluble in copper;

therefore, it either escapes or forms
micropores.

Nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and

carbon dioxide are practically
insoluble in liquid or solid copper.
Hydrocarbons generally do not
react with copper. An exception.
acetylene (ethyne), reacts at room
temperature to form the highly
explosive copper acetylides Cu2C2
and CuC2; therefore, acetylene gas
cylinders must not be equipped
with copper fittings.
Table 8.5: Typical copper contents of natural
materials.
Mineral
Content, ppm
Basalt
8
Diorite
5
Granite
3
Sandstone
0
1
Copper ores (poor)
5 000
Copper ores (rich)
50 000
Native copper
950 000
Seawater
0.003
Deep-sea clays
200
Manganese nodules
10 000
Marine ore sludges
10 000
Earth's crust (average)
50
Meteorites (average)
180

8.4 Occurrence
In the upper part of the earth's crust
(16 km deep), the average copper
content is ca. 50 ppm. Older
estimates were nearly 100 ppm,
while recent spectral analysis
values are 3040 ppm. Copper is
26th in order of abundance of the
elements in the accessible sphere of
the earth. Table 8.5 shows average
copper contents in natural materials.

8.4.1 Copper Minerals

More than 200 minerals contain
copper in definable amounts, but only
ca. 20 are of importance as copper
ores (Table 8.6) or as semiprecious
stones (turquoise and malachite).
Copper is a typical chalcophilic
element; therefore, its principal
minerals are sulfides, mostly
chalcopyrite,
bornite,
and

chalcocite, often accompanied by

pyrite, galena, or sphalerite.

Handbook of Extractive Metallurgy

498
Table 8.6: The most important copper minerals.
Mineral
Native copper
Chalcocite
Digenite
Covellite
Chalcopyrite
Bomite
Tennantite
Tetraedrite
Enargite
Boumonite
Cuprite
Tenorite
Malachite
Azurite
Chrysocolla
Dioptase
Brochantite
Antlerite
Chalcanthite
Atacamite

Formula
Cu
Cu2S
Cu9S5
CuS
CuFeS2
CU5FeS4/CU3FeS3

Cu 12A54S 13
CU 2$134S 13
Cu3AsS4

CuPbSbS3
Cu20
CuO
CuCO3- Cu(01-1)2
2CuCO3Cu(01-1)2
Cu SiO3. nH2O
Cu6[Si60:31 61420
Cu SO4- 3Cu(011)2
Cu SO4- 2Cu(011)2
CuSO4.5H20
Cu C12- 3Cu(OH)2

Copper
599.92
79.9
78.0
66.5
34.6
55.5-69.7
42-52
30-45
48.4
13.0
88.8
79.9
57.5
55.3
30-36
40.3
56.2
53.8
253
59.5

Secondary minerals are formed in sulfide

ore bodies near the earth's surface in two
stages. In the oxidation zone, oxygen-containing water forms copper oxides, subsalts (subcarbonates and subsulfates), and silicates. In
the deeper cementation zpne, copper-bearing
solutions from these salts are transformed into
secondary copper sulfides (chalcocite and
covellite) and even native copper of often high
purity, e.g., in the Michigan copper district
(Keweenaw Peninsula).
Other metallic elements frequently found in
copper ores are iron, lead, zinc, antimony, and
arsenic; less common are selenium, tellurium,
bismuth, silver, and gold. Substantial enrichments sometimes occur in complex ores. For
example, ores from Sudbury, Ontario, in Canada contain nickel and copper in nearly the
same concentrations, as well as considerable
amounts of platinum metals. The copper ores
from Zaire and Zambia are useful sources of
cobalt. Many porphyry copper ores in America
contain significant amounts of molybdenum
and are the most important single source of
rhenium. The extraction of precious metals
and other rare elements can be decisive for the
profitability of copper mines, smelters, and refineries.

Crystal system
cubic
orthorhombic
cubic
hexagonal
tetragonal
tetragonal
cubic
cubic
orthorhombic
orthorhombic
cubic
monoclinic
monoclinic
monoclinic
(amorphous)
rhombohedral
monoclinic
orthorhombic
triclinic
orthorhombic

Density, g/cm3
8.9
5.5-5.8
5.6
4.7
4 1-4.3
4.9-5.3
4.4-4.8
4.6-5.1
4.4-4.5
5.7-5.9
615
6.4
4.0
3.8
1.9-2.3
3.3
4.0
3.9
2.2-2.3
3.75

8.4.2 Origin of Copper Ores

Ore deposits are classified according to
their mode of formation, but the origin of copper ores is geologically difficult to unravel,
and some of the proposed origins are controversial. The classification distinguishes two
main groups, the magmatic series and the sedimentary series.
Magmatic Ore Formation. This involves
magma crystallization and comprises the following groups:
Liquid magmatic ore deposits originate by
segregation of the molten mass so that the
heavier sulfides (corresponding to matte)
separate from the silicates (corresponding to
slag) and form intrusive ore bodies. Examples: Sudbury, Ontario; Norilsk, western Siberia.
Pegmatitic-pneumatolytic ore deposits develop during the cooling of magma to ca.
374 C, the critical temperature of water.
Examples: Bisbee, Arizona; Cananea, Mexico.
Hydrothermal ore deposits result by further
cooling of the hot, dilute metal-bearing solutions from ca. 350 C downward, i.e., below the critical temperature of water. Such
deposits contain copper primarily as chalcopyrite and satisfy ca. 50% of the demand

Copper

499

in the Western world. There are many examples of different types of hydrothermal deposits. Examples: Butte, Montana (gangue
deposit); Tsumeb. Namibia (metasomatic
deposit); Bingham Canyon, Utah; Chu quicamata, Chile; Toquepala, Peru; Bougainville, Solomon Islands (impregnation
deposits). Impregnation deposits are also
called disseminated copper ores or porphyry
copper ores (or simply porphyries) because
of their fine particle size.
F,xhalative sedimentary ore deposits originate from submarine volcanic exhalations
and thermal springs that enter into seawater,
and constitute a transitional type to sedimentary deposits. These ores are third in
economic importance in the Western world.
The actual formation of such sulfidic precipitations can be observed, for example,
the marine ore slimes in the Red Sea. Examples: Mount Isa, Queensland; Rio Tmto,
Spain; Kammelsberg (Harz), Germany.

Deep-sea concretions lie in abundance on

the bottom of the oceans, especially the Pacific Ocean. These so-called manganese
nodules could also be a source of copper in
the future.

Sedimentary Ore Formation. The origin of

sedimentary ore occurs in the exogenous cycle
of rocks and may he subdivided into the following groups:

Australia and Oceania: Queensland, Papua

New Guinea

Arid sediment in sandstones and conglomerates occur widely in Russia as widespread

continental zones of weathering with uneven mineralization. Examples: Dsheskasgan, Kazakhstan; Exotica, Chile.
Partly metamorphized sedimentary ores in
shales, malls, and dolomites form large
strata-bound ore deposits, especially in the
African copper belt, and represent the second most important source of copper to the
Western world, as well as supplying nearly
75% of its cobalt. Examples: Zaire (oxidation zone, oxidized ores 5_ 6% Cu); Zambia
(cementation zone, secondary sulfide ores,
5_ 4% Cu).
Marine precipitates have formed sedimentary ore deposits similar to the present phenomenon of sulfide precipitation by sulfur
bacteria in the depths of the Black Sea. Examples: Mansfeld (copper schist), Germany; Silesia (copper marl), Poland.

8.4.3 Copper Ore Deposits

Geologically, the main regions of copper
ore deposits are found in two formations: the
Precambrian shields and the Tertiary fold
mountains and archipelagos. There are major
producing countries on every continent [38].
North America: United States (Arizona,
Utah, New Mexico, Montana, Nevada, and
Michigan), Canada (Ontario, Quebec, British
Columbia, and Manitoba), and Mexico
(Sonora)
South America: Chile, Peru, and Brazil
Africa: Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South
Africa, and Namibia

Asia: Russia (Siberia, Kazakhstan, and

Uzbekistan), Japan, Philippines, Indonesia,
India, Iran, and Turkey
Europe: Poland (Silesia), Yugoslavia, Spain
(Huelva), Norway, Sweden, and Finland
Antarctica may be an important copper ores
in the foreseeable future.
Table 8.7: Copper ore reserves in 1983 of the most important producing countries of the Western world 01-421
Country
United States
Chile
Peru
Zambia
Zaire
Canada
Mexico
Australia
Panama
Philippines
Papua New Guinea
Brazil
Total

Ore reserves,
6

>: 10
t
99.6

Percentage of

963
30.6
30.3
29.6
27.4
23.1
16.1
12.7
11.9
10.8
10.0

world21.1
reserves
203
6.5
6.4
6.3
5.8
4.9
3.4
2.7
2.5
2.3
2.1

398.6

84.5