We're in no danger of running out of copper. Worldwide resources of this important and valuable metal are estimated at more than 8.1 trillion pounds of which only about 1.1 trillion (~13.6%) have been mined throughout history.
And keep in mind, a vast amount of those 1.1 trillion pounds is still in circulation because copper's recycling rate is higher than that of any other engineering metal.
| 2007 U.S. Mine Production Compared with Current USGS Estimates of Copper Reserves and Resources | ||
|---|---|---|
| billions of pounds | millions of metric tons | |
| U.S. Mine Production | 2.6 | 1.2 |
| U.S. Reserve Base | 154.3 | 70 |
| World Reserve Base | 2,072.3 | 940 |
| Total World Resources | 8,157.1* | 3,700* |
| Land-based | 6,613.8* | 3,000* |
| Deep-sea nodules | 1,543.2* | 700* |
| Mined worldwide throughout history | 1,234.6 | 557 |
| (*) Note: Based upon a preliminary global assessment in which the USGS is participating, discovered and undiscovered land-based copper resources are expected to exceed 3 billion metric tons. | ||
| Source: U.S. Geological Survey, 2008 | ||
Until well into the 1800s, most copper used in the U.S.A. had to be imported. Today, we are virtually self-sufficient and, worldwide, second only to Chile in production.
The United States was the world's largest copper producer until 2000; beginning in 2000, Chile became the world's leading copper producer. The USA now produces about 8% of the world's copper supply.