 Occurrence
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| In 2005, Chile was the top mine producer of copper with atleast one-third world share followed by the USA, Indonesia and Peru, reports the British Geological Survey.
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| Copper can be found as native copper in mineral form. Minerals such as the sulfides: chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), bornite (Cu5FeS4), covellite (CuS), chalcocite (Cu2S) are sources of copper, as are the carbonates: azurite (Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2) and malachite (Cu2CO3(OH)2) and the oxide: cuprite (Cu2O).
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| Most copper ore is mined or extracted as copper sulfides from large open pit mines in porphyry copper deposits that contain
0.4 to 1.0 percent copper. Examples include: Chuquicamata in Chile and El Chino Mine in New Mexico. The average abundance of copper found within crustal rocks is approximately 68 ppm by mass,
and 22 ppm by atoms.
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| The Intergovernmental Council of Copper Exporting Countries (CIPEC), defunct since 1992, once tried to play a similar role
for copper as OPEC does for oil, but never achieved the same influence, not least because the second-largest producer, the
United States, was never a member. Formed in 1967, its principal members were Chile, Peru, Zaire, and Zambia.
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| The copper price has quintupled since 1999, rising from $0.60 per pound in June 1999 to $3.75 per pound in May 2006, where
it dropped to $2.40 in February 2007 then rebounded to $3.50 in April 2007.
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