How Copper Reaches the United States from Chile
Autor: Rachel • June 27, 2018 • 1,762 Words (8 Pages) • 474 Views
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often symbolized as being malleable, futile and ductile. Humanity has figured out a way to work with metal in harmony but has not figured out how to better evolve human relations. Now, however, copper is viewed as a symbol to establish peaceful relations. Copper is an element abundant in nature and thus the supply of copper is more than the demand for it making the price of copper affordable to all classes. This narrows down the social and wealth gap between the rich and the poor as copper is required for use in everyday life and thus is viewed as the element that can change the future. Copper is also drawn as a parallel to the physical existence of people that connects them to their past and the future as copper has been existent through centuries and is foreseen to exist as the vital element for centuries to come. Thus, we can attribute copper as being a culturally significant element and clearly cannot be substituted.
Thus in this paper, I have analyzed the commodity chain of copper from its point of production to its point of consumption . The reasons why I chose the country Chile as my copper industry is because it has the highest reserves in the world and is thus the largest exporter to the United States. As seen throughout recounting the process, copper is pretty much used in every object. For instance, take the laptop I am using to type this analysis on or the air conditioner that is keeping me cool in this hot Texas weather, you can see or research whether or not they contain copper. The answer to that is yes they definitely contain in some from. Also, the production of copper through technological advancements has become less harmful to the environment. Once companies establish shorter working hours and better safety precautions, they wont be harmful to the laborers either. As an added advantage, copper can also be recycled. Thus, we would not have to mine to procure more copper we can just recycle all old products to satisfy the demand for copper. Hence, I conclude by saying that copper is an unconditional part of our lives.
1. "Corporación Nacional del Cobre , Chile - Inicio." Codelco. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
This is the official website of the company. This where I got the information for the mines of the company, how many metric tons of copper each mine produces, its refineries and shipment facilities.
2. Flemming, C. A., and J. T. Trevors. "Copper toxicity and chemistry in the environment: a review." Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 44.1-2 (1989): 143-158.
From this academic article, I obtained information on the toxicity of copper, its harmful effects, whether technology can decrease these effects and if it is harmful to human health.
3. "Outsourced Chilean Copper Workers “21st Century Slave Labour”." Outsourced Chilean Copper Workers “21st Century Slave Labour” | Inter Press Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
It is from this newspaper article that I obtained information on the working conditions of the laborers who work in Codelco, Chile and the labor relations between the management and the workers.
4. "Toxic Substances Portal - Copper." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
It is from this academic website that I have obtained the possible consequences of copper towards human health and differences between short term exposure and long term exposure to it.
5. "Palestine Exploration Quarterly." Taylor and Francis Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
It is from this online book that I have extracted some social and symbolic implications of copper in everyday life and parallels and metaphor that people associate with the natural element of copper.
6. "Facts About Copper." Geology. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
7. "How Hydrometallurgy and the SX/EW Process Made Copper the "Green" Metal." Innovations: How Hydrometallurgy and the SX/EW Process Made Copper the "Green" Metal. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
8. "Solvent extraction and electrowinning." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2017. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.
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