Copper was the first metal used by mankind. As early as prehistoric times, people began mining open-pit copper mines and using the copper they obtained to make weapons, styles and other utensils, and the use of copper had a profound impact on the progress of early human civilisation. Copper is a metal found in the Earth's crust and in the oceans. The content of copper in the earth's crust is about 0.01%, and in individual copper deposits, the content of copper can reach 3% to 5%. Most of the copper in nature exists as compounds, i.e. copper minerals. Copper minerals and other minerals are aggregated to form copper ores, which are mined and beneficiated to become copper concentrates with high copper grades.
Wise Research Consulting Copper prices will continue to fluctuate for some time as the market digests the new supply. However, the long term outlook is still bright, and the decline in copper ore grades and the delay in the start of some new projects will support the copper market in the future.
The atmosphere in the copper market has turned bearish over the past year as a number of new mines have come on stream and economic growth in China, the world's largest consumer of the metal, has slowed. China's copper consumption accounts for about 40 per cent of total global consumption.
These factors have pressured copper prices to fall by a cumulative 9.2 per cent this year.
Copper investment over the past decade is expected to reap rewards, with new supply set to hit the market by 2016. "The bottom line is that we expect the market to continue to be volatile over the next two to three years."
The belief that the long-term fundamentals of the copper market will remain strong is not only due to China's need for more power and energy. "The other reason is supply. This is a bit more complicated. It could be 10 to 20 years before some new copper projects come online."
Some industry insiders believe copper prices will rebound. They believe that increased supply may not lead to a surplus of copper in concentrate next year, as the market is likely to experience raw material bottlenecks.
Analysts had expected a small surplus in refined copper supply this year at the start of the year. However, the surging copper market is close to a supply-demand balance. The industry is deeply divided on whether supply will outstrip demand in 2015.
UK-listed copper miner Antofagasta expects a surplus of 400,000 tonnes next year. And those who are bearish on the copper market say the surplus won't be large because of a shortage of copper scrap, while smelter inventories are plagued by growing quantities of low-grade ore.
The new supply flooding the market is a mixture of ores with a high proportion of impurities, such as arsenic. These come mainly from Chile and Peru. This ore needs to be washed before it can be sold to China, where it is smelted into refined copper.
Copper is closely related to human health. The human body needs to consume various trace elements every day, and copper is one of the metal elements that the human body cannot do without. In an adult, the copper content in 1kg of body weight is about 1.4 mg to 2.1 mg, and the copper content in the blood is about 1.0 mg to 1.5 mg. Though this amount is small, it is indispensable for maintaining the health of the body and the normal operation of the organs. This is because copper has a special role in the operation of the body. Copper is an important component of proteins and enzymes in the body, and many important enzymes require the participation and activation of trace amounts of copper. For example, copper catalyses the synthesis of haemoglobin. Studies have shown that copper deficiency leads to elevated plasma cholesterol, which increases the risk of atherosclerosis and is therefore an important factor in the development of coronary heart disease. Scientists have also found that the development of diseases such as nutritional anaemia, leukodystrophy, osteoporosis, gastric and oesophageal cancers are also associated with copper deficiency in the human body. Severe copper deficiency and long-term marginal copper deficiency, but also trigger paediatric stunting and some endemic diseases.
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