Copper is the earliest metal used by mankind. It is widely used in many fields such as electrical, light industry, construction, and national defense in modern times. Copper mines are the most important source of copper extraction. According to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs, my country's copper mine imports in 2019 amounted to 21.99 million tons, with the value of imports equivalent to RMB 233.7 billion. According to the data of ITC (International Trade Center), the joint jurisdiction of the United Nations and WTO, my country's copper ore imports currently account for more than 50% of the global copper ore trade.
Main copper mines used for smelting copper
At present, the imported copper ore used for smelting copper mainly includes two types: copper sulfide ore and copper oxide ore. According to the "2017 Import and Export Tariff Commodities and Item Notes", let's take a look at the types of copper ore and its concentrates under tax item 26.03.
1. Copper sulfide ore
Copper sulfide ore mainly includes chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite. In addition, tetrahedrite, kalcopyrite, wheel ore, and sulphur-arsenic copper ore are also copper sulfide ore varieties used to extract copper.
The picture above shows chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite from left to right
2. Copper oxide ore
Oxide copper ore mainly includes cuprite, black copper ore, and malachite. In addition, chlorocopperite, azurite, and see-through stone are also copper oxide ore varieties used to extract copper.
From left to right in the above picture are cuprite, black copper, and malachite
In actual industrial production, because the copper content of primary copper ore is low, it needs to be enriched by flotation or other methods to form copper concentrate for copper smelting. The current national standard for copper concentrates implemented in my country is YS/T 318-2007, which requires that the copper content of copper concentrates calculated by quality should not be less than 13%.
