The great influence of copper on the history of human civilization is unmatched by any material. Copper was the first widely used metal, so powerful that two periods in the history of human civilization were named after its alloys: The Bronze Age and the subbronze age. Today copper is still the third most used metal in the world, after iron and aluminum. Without copper, modern life would be unimaginable. From Industry, daily necessities, architectural decoration and even the field of art, the shadow of copper is everywhere around people. This paper analyzes the copper industry chain in detail from the aspects of storage, production, consumption, downstream application and price influencing factors, which are necessary materials for the Non-ferrous metal industry.

 I. Overview of the copper industry chain 

the copper production process is divided into three steps: Copper concentrate mining, crude copper smelting and refined copper smelting, which divide the copper industry chain into three stages, the first stage being the mining stage, open pit mining, underground mining and leaching mining; , the second stage is smelting, fire smelting and Hydrometallurgy, fire smelting is also divided into two processes of crude refining and refining, and the third stage is processing, copper processing products are copper Rod, copper tube, copper plate, copper wire, copper ingots, copper bars and copper foil and other types. 

Figure 1: Industrial Chain Composition Diagram

Figure 2: Industrial Chain composition figure 2

II. UPSTREAM OF COPPER INDUSTRY CHAIN ——"storage and production" : Uneven distribution of copper concentrate resources

Currently, the world's known copper resources amount to about 355.57 million tons. Based on regional distribution, there are five regions with the world's richest copper reserves: (1) the western foothills of the Andes in Peru and Chile in South America; (2) Los Angeles and the Great Plains Valley in the western United States; (3) Congo and Zambia in Africa; (4) Kazakhstan; (5) Eastern and central Canada.

From the global distribution of copper resources, copper resources distribution is relatively concentrated. North America accounted for a large share of copper production in the early 20th century, after the 1980s, Europe, Asia and South America came to the fore, especially South America copper production soared. At present, the world's copper deposits are mainly located in Chile and Peru in South America, Mexico, the United States and Canada in North America, China, Indonesia and Kazakhstan in Asia, Poland and Russia in Europe, and Australia in Oceania, and in places like Zambia in Africa. Chile is one of the world's richest copper reserves, its copper reserves and the basis of the world's copper reserves accounted for 29% and 36% . However, China, as a large copper-using country, is relatively short of copper resources, with reserves and basic reserves accounting for 5.5% and 6.3% respectively.

Due to the uneven distribution of copper concentrate resources in the world, the Americas has become the region with the highest copper concentrate output and the concentration of major copper exporting countries, while Asia, especially China, as the main copper-using region, is relatively deficient in copper resources, as a major importer of copper, which makes the global copper concentrate trade very active.

III. The lower reaches of copper industry chain —— Consumption: global and regional distribution of copper consumption in China

According to the global copper consumption in 2010, China, the United States, Germany and Japan are still the major copper consuming countries, with China accounting for nearly 37% of the total copper consumption, making it the most important copper consuming country, china's share is rising fast, while the United States and Japan, traditionally big consumers, have declined in varying degrees. China and the US continue to dominate copper consumption. But in terms of consumption structure, the developed countries and the developing countries are different. The copper consumption in the developing countries represented by China is mainly electricity, electronics, household appliances and construction, the developed countries represented by the United States are mainly building consumption, power electronics and household appliances consumption of copper consumption in small proportion. China is currently the world's largest copper consumer, and China's copper consumption demand is still in the upward trend, so the global copper demand mainly depends on China's demand, China's demand has become the main factor driving copper prices in the past decade. China's copper consumption is mainly in power cables, real estate and household appliances, with power cables accounting for more than 40 percent of the total, followed by real estate and household appliances, in addition, the auto industry in recent years has also become one of the driving forces of copper consumption.

IV. Major copper-importing and exporting countries

1. Major Copper Exporters: Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Kazakhstan, United States, Argentina, Mongolia; 

2. Major Copper Importers: China, Japan, India, Korea, Germany, Spain, Philippines, Bulgaria, Brazil, Sweden;

Main application fields of copper

1. Copper applications in the electrical industry: Power Transmission, motor manufacturing, communication cables, residential electrical wiring; 2. Architectural and artistic uses of copper: Plumbing, home improvement, statues and crafts, coins;

 3. APPLICATIONS IN THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY: Electric Vacuum Devices, printed circuits, integrated circuits, lead frames; 

4. Application in energy and petrochemical industry: Energy Industry, Petrochemical Industry, marine industry;

 5. Applications in the transportation industry: ships, automobiles, railways, aircraft; 

6. Applications in the mechanical and Metallurgical Industries: Almost all mechanical engineering, metallurgical equipment, alloy additives; 

7. Applications in light industry: Air Conditioners and chillers, watches, papermaking, printing, brewing, medicine;

 8. HIGH-TECH APPLICATIONS: Computer, superconducting and cryogenic, Aerospace Technology, high-energy physics;

Factors affecting the spot price of copper

1. International Economic Situation 

2. The state of production in producing countries 

3. SEASONAL EFFECTS 

4. The impact of industrial policy 

5. Price of alternatives 

6. Impact of inventory 

7 impact of other policies, regulations

CREDIT: Network organizer, photo: Poker Investor