FEB. 17 MEETING
On Feb. 17, the Willow Springs Tuesday Study Club met at Geneva Moody’s beautiful home for a regular business meeting. Following the business portion of the meeting, Claudia gave the following informative presentation about the metal copper:
COPPER
Copper has been an essential material to man since prehistoric times. Copper and its many alloys have played an important role in many civilizations, from the ancient Egyptians and Romans to modern day cultures around the world.
Copper was first used by man more than 10,000 years ago. A copper pendant was discovered in what is now Northern Iraq. It has been dated about 8700 B.C. There was active mining by 5000 B.C. for nearly five millennia. Copper was the only metal known to man, and thus had all the metal applications.
Early copper artifacts, first decorative, then utilitarian, were hammered out from "native copper" found in pure form. By 5000-6000 B.C., cultures in the Middle East began smelting copper ores.
The copper stages: Between the Stone Age and Bronze Ages, copper was used for tools, weapons and jewelry. During the Bronze Age around 3000 B.C., the discovery that alloying copper with tin produced stronger, harder bronze revolutionized tool and weapon making. Copper usage spread from the Middle East to Egypt, China, and the Americas around 2800 B.C.
Ancient Egyptians used copper for sterilizing wounds and drinking water. Copper and its alloys (bronze/brass) were widely used for coins in ancient Rome and China. Early civilizations, including Indigenous peoples in North America, utilized copper for decorative, religious and social status items.
Most copper is mined or extracted as copper sulfides from large open pit mines. Sites include Chuquicameta in Chile, Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, United States, and El Chino mine in New Mexico, United States.
The Bingham Canyon mine is more commonly known as Kennecott Copper mine among locals. It is an open pit mining operation, extracting a large porphyry copper deposit, South West of Salt Lake City, Utah in the Oquirrh Mountains. It is the largest human-made excavation and deepest open-pit mine in the world. It is considered to have produced more copper than any other mine in history. The mine has been in production since 1906. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 under the name Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine. The mine experienced a massive landslide in April 2013 and a smaller slide in September 2013. Minerals in the form of copper ore were discovered in Bingham Canyon in 1848 by two brothers, Sanford and Thomas Bingham, sons of Erastus Bingham, Latter Day Saints pioneers of September 1847, who grazed their cattle there. They reported their find to their leader Brigham Young, who advised against pursuing mining operations because the survival and establishment of settlements were of paramount importance at that time. For this reason the brothers did not stake a claim.
Copper is an essential trace element in plants and animals, but not in all microorganisms. The human body contains copper at a level of about 1.4 to 2.1 mg per kg of body mass. It is an essential trace element required for survival. An average adult body contains approximately 50 to 150 mg (or about 110 mg on average) of copper, which is concentrated in the liver, brain, heart, kidneys, and skeletal muscle. It is necessary for forming red blood cells, maintaining healthy bones, blood vessels, immune system, and nerves. The body can't produce copper and must obtain it from food sources such as shellfish, organ meats, nuts, seeds, and cocoa. The recommended daily dietary allowance for adults is .09 mg per day. Copper levels are tightly regulated by the body and excess is excreted primarily through bile. Excess copper is toxic.
Copper is widely regarded in folklore as a sacred, healing and romantic metal due to its lustrous, warm hue. In many traditions, it acts as a conductor for positive energy and spiritual transformation. Copper is used in folk medicine, particularly in the Ozarks, to treat arthritis and rheumatism by wearing bracelets and earrings.
Copper is 100% recyclable without losing its properties.
