Copper bars. Manufactured bars of copper await further industrial processing. Copper is a pinkish-red transition metal which is malleable, ductile and an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. It occurs as the minerals cuprite, azurite, chalcocite, chalcopyrite and malachite and occasionally as native copper crystals. The metal is usually extracted by smelting, leaching and electrolysis. Copper is used extensively in electrical cables and water pipes. Its alloys, brass (copper-zinc) and bronze (copper-tin), are also widely used.,Image: 103032141, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Profimedia
Polonia vrea să devină un producător de cupru major la nivel mondial în condiţiile în care noile mine plănuite de compania canadiană Lumina Metals în ţara est-europeană urmează să aducă mai mult de o dublare a producţiei gigantului local controlat de stat KGHM Polska Miedz SA, scrie Bloomberg.