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

• dmitchell@bcmm.ca