Copper is everywhere. The statue of liberty is basically made of it. There’s some in our pockets. Buildings have it everywhere; it’s practically the muscular system of them. There’s even an emerging market in extracting copper wires for profit in practically every major US city. But what is it exactly? The answer, ripped fresh off my Oxford dictionary of Chemsitry, below. 

            Copper- A red-brown transition element. Copper has been extracted for thousands of years; it was known to the Romans as cuprum, a name linked with the conductor of heat and electricity. Native copper appears in isolated pockets in some parts of the world. The large mines in the USA, Chile, Canada, Zambia, Congo, and Peru extract ores containing sulphides, oxides, and carbonates. They are usually worked by smelting, leaching, and electrolysis. Copper metal is used to make electric cables and wires. Its alloys, brass (copper-zinc) and bronze (copper-tin), are used extensively.

By the way, where is Chile? And why is it important? 
 

Chile

                                                Mine production: 5.37 million tonnes

Chile has consistently blown other countries away in terms of copper production. According to the Inter Press Service, it controls 36 percent of the global copper market.

The nation is also home to the largest copper reserves in the world. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), it has reserves of 190 million tonnes, which is 28 percent of known copper reserves in existence.

Owned by the Chilean government, CODELCO leads copper production in the country. It produced 385,000 tonnes of the commodity during the first quarter of 2013.

Copper constitutes more than more than 50 percent of Chile's exports. Spending by miners is so high that for each mining job created, three are generated elsewhere, says Mining Minister Hernán de Solminihac.

Santiago's (national capital of Chile) steady economic growth over the past few decades has transformed it into a modern metropolis.

A shining example of how mining can lift a country from poverty is Chile.


What does it have to do with this country, the USA?