Review of publicly available academic, industry, and NGO research as well as first-hand personal accounts of the impacts of copper mining and processing.

Summary:

• Copper’s sustainability risks are primarily in the area of environmental pollution (including the associated human health impacts)

• The majority of copper reserves unavoidably geographically overlap with areas of significant environmental and social value

• Copper must be converted from 1% ore to 99.5%+ pure copper for most applications, a process requiring the addition of solvents and/or heat

• Copper ore excavation exposes ores to air and water, triggering an acidic reaction that requires perpetual treatment

• Tailings ponds/dams—outdoor storage and processing locations to extract copper from unwanted ore waste—commonly leak or fail, with disastrous consequences, even in the most regulated countries

• People living in the areas of copper mines and processing facilities such as smelters have been exposed to toxic chemicals, including arsenic (a by-product of many copper ores)

• As time goes on, sustainability issues with copper are only likely to get worse, as the need for copper increases and we dig deeper, push into more protected areas, etc.

• Recycling copper has significant environmental improvements, primarily from the avoidance of mining. E-waste is considered to be the primary source of recycled copper