Things You Need To Know About Copper Metal
While you are out collecting scrap metal, you will eventually come across a reddish-brown metal. This metal is called copper and it is one of the best metals to collect because copper offcuts can fetch a pretty fair price at your local scrap metal company. But what is this metal? And why is it so sought after? Stick around and learn more about this metallic element so you can trade more successfully.
Copper Is the Only Red-Coloured Metal
Don’t worry about including other metals with your copper stash. Copper is the only metal on earth that is reddish in colour. In fact, there are only two non-silver metals found on earth; copper and gold. Red gold or rose gold is produced by mixing gold and copper together. If the scrap metal you pick up is gleaming red/orange in colour then it can’t be anything other than copper.
Coper Can Sometimes Look Green
Copper is a red/orange metal but it can sometimes appear green when a layer of oxidation forms on its surface. This coating results from a reaction between the metal and oxygen particles in the air but it doesn’t affect the quality of the metal. Instead, that solder mask layer protects the natural copper material from further erosion and preserves it so the metal can last indefinitely.
Copper Can Be Used To Create Other Metals
Copper can be combined with other metals or manipulated to form other alloys. When copper and zinc are fused, brass is produced. When copper and tin are fused, bronze is produced. There are hundreds of different alloys found in the world.
Copper Is Naturally Antibacterial
Don’t worry too much about the way a piece of copper lying on the ground looks. That metal won’t make you sick no matter where it has been. This is because copper is a natural antibacterial agent. This metal is toxic to invertebrates and most germs and bacteria. The metal is often used on door handles to prevent the transmission of diseases or on ship hulls to keep invertebrates like muscles from attaching to ships.
Copper Has Many Desirable Properties
Copper is a relatively rare metal that contributes to its value. But the main reason it is sought after is that it has so many desirable qualities. This metal is soft, malleable, ductile, conducts heat and electricity, and is corrosion-resistant. It is used in all sorts of materials such as door handles, plumbing, electric wiring, and telecommunications, and even in affordable jewellery because of these positive characteristics.
It Is the Third Most-Used Metal For Industrial Purposes
This metal has many uses which makes it so popular for industrial applications. Iron is the most common metal used in industrial sectors with aluminium close behind and copper in third place. This metal has many industrial applications since it is used in coins, cookware, building constructions, electronics, and wiring.
80% of Mined Copper Is Still In Use
Copper is one of the few metals or materials that are 100% recyclable. It won’t degrade in quality no matter how many times it is melted down and re-used. Most of the copper metals harvested from the earth’s layers are still in use in one way or another by people and nothing goes to waste.
Copper Metals Can Get a Very Good Price
Copper can be repurposed over and over again. This means you will get a good price for the copper you collect no matter how old it might be. While this metal isn’t considered a precious metal like gold or rhodium, it is still a very sought-after commercial metal. Commercially, it has a very good trade value.
Copper is one very important metal and a very good scrap metal to start collecting if you want cash for copper from scrap metal companies like Danny Scrap Metal. With this semi-precious metal, you can never go wrong when it is time to trade.