Copper Thieves and Murders -- Director's Cut: Age of Bronze

Copper has a fascinating tale all its own. And I think it’s one that could get a lot wilder. Mind you, many people are bearish on copper right now. For example, the IMF expects that copper prices should fall to $1.50 per pound by 2010.

I’ll get to why I think they’re probably wrong. First, some facts…

Current global consumption of copper is approximately 17 million tonnes per year, or 37 billion pounds. It’s expected to increase another 3.5% in 2007.

China presently accounts for approximately 22% of refined copper consumption and is both the largest consumer of copper and the primary source of demand growth. China will probably use 13% more copper in 2007, up from an expected 7% increase this year, according to Goldman Sachs.

A production shortfall has forced consumers to tap stockpiles. Copper inventory monitored by the London Metals Exchange recently fell 3.1% to 117,575 tons. That’s a big drop … and now LME stockpiles are equal to less than three days of global consumption.

A (Metal) Cradle of Civilization

Pretty good for a mineral that couldn’t hold its own against stone tools when it was first used around 9000 BC in the Middle East. Copper was first used to color pieces of pottery. Copper nuggets are soft enough to be worked on their own. The softness is the problem – early copper tools couldn’t hold an edge like flint.

The earliest known metal objects date from around 7000 BC, and come from several sites in the upland plateau of Anatolia, now in modern Turkey. Still, the mace heads, knives and axes were too soft to go up against a sharpened rock when you wanted to conk an enemy on the head (ouch!).

But copper still had plenty of uses. Copper is a beautiful metal. A raw copper nugget shines; it has a rich color to delight even the most primitive eyes. As a result, copper was often used in early times for ornaments and fripperies. The ancient Greeks and Romans made copper mirrors, hence, copper came to symbolize the lovely goddess, Venus.

But copper use changed – and changed the face of civilization – when the Egyptians found that adding tin to copper produces bronze. An alloyed object is harder than copper alone. This was the dawn of the Bronze Age – the ascendancy of Western civilization. Bronze was a superior metal for all sorts of uses -- plows, tools, weapons, armor, and more.

Later, Greek artisans discovered brass by mixing copper with zinc ore. Do you like the sound of the trombone and trumpet and saxophone? Thank the Greeks.

Copper is Forever

How long does copper last? Forever. The ancient Egyptian invented copper plumbing around 5,000 years ago. A network of this tubing, found in a pyramid, remains in great shape.

How is that possible? Copper is not as susceptible to corrosion as other metals, which is why it is still used today for pipes. Unlike plastic, copper does not give off fumes, melt, or burn. In addition, copper has antibacterial properties that help to ward off deadly microorganisms. The metal was prescribed by Bronze-age doctors to cure a variety of ailments.
The Chinese were all over copper, turning it into bronze starting in around 2000 BC. And it spread from there to Japan.

As for Europe – remember that 5,000-year-old “Ice Man” who was found in the Alps a couple years back? He had a copper ax, and the high degree of copper and arsenic in his hair (copper ore can also be rich in arsenic) has convinced scientists he was a coppersmith who lost his way in the Alpine glaciers.

In the Middle East, the Sumerians used copper to electroplate metal as far back s 2500 BC. Copper is also part of one of the great scientific mysteries -- Iraq's "Baghdad Battery." Dating from as far back as 248 BC, it consists of copper cylinders soldered to lead, and appears to function as an ancient electric battery. No one has figured out why the Mesopotamians would need a battery – perhaps an ancient IPOD waits to be unearthed somewhere.

Copper is part of an even better historical mystery – the Copper Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It’s actually a treasure map that promises to lead the way to vast hidden riches … but no one’s been able to figure it out yet.

One of America’s most enduring symbols is made of copper. The Statue of Liberty, dedicated on October 28, 1886, was made in France using Norwegian copper.

While copper is found worldwide, 90% of reserves are located in four areas: the Great Basin of the western United States, Zambia, central Canada, and the Andes regions of Peru and Chile. The main copper ore producing countries are Chile, United States, Indonesia, Australia, Peru, Russia, Canada, China, Poland, Kazakhstan and Mexico.

As I and my pit-digging friends found, out, copper is endlessly recyclable. Copper can also be recycled almost indefinitely without losing its form. Currently, it’s used in the architecture of the World Wide Web and computer chips. Among pure metals at room temperature, only silver has a higher electrical conductivity. About 10,000 pounds of copper is used in the construction of each Space Shuttle.

More importantly (to me), it’s used to in the brewing of beer! In the future? Well, in the last decade or so, copper’s use as a superconductor has been explored.
So why am I so bullish on copper now? (See Part 3)

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