How Copper Reaches the United States from Chile

In this paper, I will be analyzing the commodity chain of copper from its point of production to its point of consumption. The company that I will be using in this analysis is Codelco, which is established in Chile. I chose this company because Chile has the highest reserves of copper and is thus the largest exporter to the United States. This commodity chain analysis will include the environmental conditions under which copper is produced by Codelco, labor and labor conditions present within the company, distribution methods used to export the copper and symbolic and cultural values of copper. In next few paragraphs, I will present information that addresses some of the questions presented above. In later paragraphs, I will argue key concepts such as the role copper plays in everyday life, is the production of copper harmful to the environment and its occupants and are we reliant too reliant on copper that we are over-exhausting its ores. Does copper have substitutes that we can use to replace it with? Copper is predominantly used in most objects in our everyday lives. Alloys, pipes, wires, coins, electronics all contain copper because it cannot be damaged by rust or water. Thus, we are heavily reliant on copper and research shows that short-term exposure to copper is actually good for health but long-term exposure does have negative effects associated with it.

Much of the copper mined by Codelco comes from seven of its mines located in Chile namely the Lieutenant and Chuquicamata. Copper is extracted by Codelco using the solvent extraction and electrowinning process (SX/EW). SX/EW is a two-stage hydrometallurgical process that first extracts and upgrades copper ions into a solvent containing a chemical that reacts and binds the copper in the solvent. The copper is then extracted by the company with strong aqueous acid, which deposits the pure raw copper onto the cathode using electrolytic procedures. One may assume that the production of copper is harmful for the environment but the SX/EW process is proven to less harmful to the environment. While conventional method of acquiring copper requires 65MJ of energy, the SX/EW process requires only 15 MJ of energy, which is almost, less than 1/4th used normally. Also, when bacterial leaching is used adjunct to SX/EW process, less ores are required to be exploited to obtain the same amount of copper. This saves a large number of water bodies from being dumped upon and lower energy requirements.

However, like every other activity, extraction of copper does have harmful implications for the environment. It causes erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining. Also, for a mine to be established hundreds of families would have to relocate to clear the ground required for an underground mine. This would thus cause large-scale deforestation also causing lower underground water reserves and drying of local climate. Copper mines also cause pollution so severe that people near the mine area must relocate their homes elsewhere because that area is deemed unsafe for human habitation. Codelco had to relocate its employees and their families 17 km away from the mines where it extracts its copper. In Chile, copper is said to be the main cause of pollution as copper is the most abundant metal found in the area and high demand for copper causes Codelco to increase their mining operations thus increasing the amount of pollution in the air. However, Codelco has employed various sustainability efforts such as community development and revised safety and occupational regulations to respect the health of its employees.

When discussing the health of Codelco’s employees, we can investigate the labor conditions under which copper is produced. Most of the laborers working in mines are outsourced and thus have no rights or social protection unlike permanent employees who have guaranteed contracts. This has caused a rift between the management and labor and has caused tense labor relations. In one of Codelco’s mines Escondida, there was a strike aimed at pressuring the management to improve labor condition such as holidays, hygiene, safety and health regulations. When exposed to copper for a short amount of time, it’s not very harmful. But Codelco’s employment of subcontracted workers for long periods of time causes increased irritation of the nose, headaches, nausea, stomach cramps and kidney damage that may even lead to death. This makes working conditions in mines owned by Codelco very hazardous. Now that we know the struggles workers go through to make copper, how does it reach our homes in Austin?

Once copper is extracted from the ground, they go to Codelco’s refining plant, which is located in Valparaiso, Chile. Once they get refined, copper is stored either in a concentrated or a cathode form through the pyrometallurgy or hydrometallurgy process. This copper once refined will be exported to x. The 2003 duty free bilateral agreement signed by Chile and the US has made it (much cheaper?) to export, and thus double the amount of copper exports have been brought to the US since that time—just a suggestion for some rephrasing, it needs refinement of course.Chile and United States have a duty free bilateral agreement that was signed in 2003 and Codelco since then has been able to double the amount of copper exports to the United States.

From the ports of Angamos, Codelco ships copper from the largest division under its wing to the Unites States, which has imported 2.16 trillion tones of copper making it the largest importer of copper in the world. Once the copper reaches the United States, Codelco auctions off large quantities of refined copper to companies as a raw material either as spot contracts or term contracts. These companies then use the copper in their industries such as building and construction, power generation and transmission electronic product manufacturing and even transportation. From these manufacturing companies, copper is produced into finish products which are packaged and sent to large retail and wholesale markets such as Wal-Mart and Costco. Thus, if I were in Austin and I was looking for copper, I would find copper either as a finished product in large retail shops or in small shops near my home where the retailers further sell these finished product. Copper can be found in finished products such as motors, wiring, radiators, connectors, breaks, plumbing or as packaged refined copper. Thus, you can pretty much find copper anywhere in Austin making it a widespread commodity.

Copper simply replaced stone as a material substitute in the manufacturing industry. Copper is