Home > categories > Minerals & Metallurgy > Copper Pipes > Will we ever run out of copper?
Question:

Will we ever run out of copper?

Will we ever run out of copper? I know that it is able to be recycle but there is a finite amountso plz give a scientific answer and write down the source if possible.

Answer:

There are huge quantities of copper in the upper 1km. of the earth's crust, enough for millions of years at the present rate of usage. The problem is that only a tiny fraction of that is economic to work, estimates of how long readily exploitable deposits will last very from 25 to 60 years and it depends also on the discovery of as yet unknown deposits, so the answer to your question is yes we will run out. Recycling is the major source of copper used today.
The only way to run out of an element would be to blast it into space. However, over time copper would just become more expensive to produce and/or recycle. If every atom of copper were in use, this could be considered running out.
Wikipedia says that it will run out in 25 years (2008)!

Share to: