Mankind’s First Metal, Still Our Most Useful
From architecture to electronics, jewelry to plumbing to nutrition, copper continues to be the element we can’t live without
Few materials, natural or manmade, can match the contribution copper has made across the arc of human civilization.
Copper was the first metal discovered and used by man at the beginning of recorded history. Its principal alloy, bronze, ushered in the age of metals and machinery, enabling our modern world. Electricity, electronics and computers—the key components of progress today and for the foreseeable future—all rely on copper circuitry.
Infinitely versatile, whether in its natural state or alloyed with other elements, copper is also considered the quality standard when it comes to construction materials as diverse as plumbing pipe and architectural roofing.
Millions of miles of dependable, long-lasting copper pipe provide water to people around the globe. And copper’s superior conductivity and thermal transfer capability are critical to energy-saving products like high-efficiency motors, direct exchange geothermal heat pumps and solar collectors.
