by Bob Hohn (February, 2018)
WOW!! What a way to start off the new year. We had 24 juniors and their parents attend our first program of the year. We shared some facts about copper. What it looks like, where we can find it and how it is used.
Arizona produces 2/3 of the USA’s copper. Copper was one of the first metals people worked into tools, weapons and ornaments over 8,000 years ago. The oldest copper knives have been dated to 6,000 years ago. Copper forms between two beds of rock where it grows in thin layers. It also grows in branching masses called denditic, from the Greek word DENDRON which means tree. Copper quickly tarnishes to a bright green and copper deposits are often found by finding bright green stains on rocks. This is called a copper bloom. Most copper is extracted from ores like chalcopyrite, azurite, cuprite and malachite.
Adding tin to copper produces bronze and if you add zinc to copper it makes brass. Copper is an excellent conductor of electricity. It is used in electrical wiring, motors, plumbing, heating and air conditioners, roofing, and gutters on buildings, as well as cookware, jewelry and sculptures.
There was a copper mine located 6 miles east of Dahlonega on the Chestatee River. There is also another mine located in Ducktown, TN that operated from 1850 to 1987. This mine produced extensive environmental damage as a result of processing the copper. Clean up started in 2001 and continues. The Ducktown Basin Museum is located on the historic mine site and a visit is recommended. We had samples of native copper, sheet and dendritic, azurite, chalcopyrite, and a copper sculpture for the kids and parents to examine.
We also made some copper wire bracelets with beads and everyone left with a bracelet or two or three and snacks. A big thank you to Bob Hohn and Richard Cepurna and all the parents for all you help.
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