Copper Development Association

AT A GLANCE THE COPPER DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION WHAT: A U.S-based, not-for-profit association of the global copper industry WHERE: Washington, DC WEBSITE: www.copper.org PER C opper, a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from Latin: cuprum) and atomic #29, is one of the few metals that can occur in nature in a directly usable form. This led to very early human use in several regions around the world. In fact, the known history of copper use dates back to 9000 BC in the Middle East. Thousands of years later, c. 5000 BC, it was the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores; the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, c. 4000 BC; and the first metal to be purposefully alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, c. 3500 BC. Today, the major applications of copper are electrical wire (60%), roofing and plumbing (20%), and industrial machinery (15%). Copper is used mostly as a pure metal, but when greater hardness is required, it is put into such alloys as brass and bronze (5% of total use). For more than two centuries, copper paint has been used on boat hulls to control the growth of plants and shellfish. A small part of the copper supply is also used for nutritional supplements and fungicides in agriculture. The Copper Development Association Inc. (CDA) is a U.S-based, not-for-profit association of the global copper industry, influencing the use of copper A BRIGHT FUTURE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (CDA)