Copper

The earliest known copper deposits on the island of Cyprus have been a starting point for the practical use of copper metals called "Cuprum" in Latin. Copper items found in the Çatalhöyük excavations in our country date back to the known copper history. It takes up to 7000 years.

As of 2022, the total copper reserves on a global scale are predicted to be 890 million tons. Chile is the country with the largest share in the distribution of copper reserves with a share of 21%, followed by Australia with a %11 share and Peru with a 19% share. At the same time, Chile ranks first in world copper production with 5.2 million tons of metal copper, followed by Peru with 2.2 million tons and China with 1.9 million tons. 

As of 2022, 890 million tons of reserves have been distributed to various continents, especially 11 countries. 

World copper production increased by 29% after 2012 to around 22.000.000 tons.

According to the data of 2022 in our country, the total production of copper ore was 5,2 million tons. 

The provinces where copper is produced according to the amount of production in 2022 are Kastamonu, Siirt, Adıyaman, Artvin, Giresun, Çanakkale, Rize, Elazığ, Malatya, Kütahya, Kırşehir, Bitlis, Ordu. On the other hand, blister and refined copper production is carried out in Samsun Smelting and Electrolysis Facility.

Copper production in our country by years:

Exports of copper ores and enriched copper ores in our country increased by 2% in 2021 compared to the previous year, reaching the highest levels of the last 6 years and reached 313,565 tons.

As of 2021, copper prices are on an upward trend. January-December 2020 average copper price was US$6,170/ton, while the 2021 price average was US$9,223/ton. 

Recycling

According to data from the USGS 2022 report, old (post-consumption) scrap copper converted into refined metal, alloys, and other forms yielded an estimated 160,000 tons of recycled copper in 2022, and an estimated 670,000 tons of copper was recovered from new (manufacturing) scrap from fabrication operations. Copper recovered from scrap contributed 32% of the US copper supply. In our country, more than 40,000 tons/year of copper is gained from scrap recycling.

Date of Update: 19 June 2023