Metals, Energy and Sustainability : The Story of Doctor Copper and King Coal

This book explains how and where copper and fossil fuels were formed and the likely future for the extraction of copper and coal. The colourful chronology of our efforts to extract metals from minerals and energy from fossil fuels is presented from earliest times until the present day. The difficult concept of human sustainability is examined in the context of continually decreasing real prices of energy and metals. This book integrates the latest findings on our historic use of technology to continually produce cheaper metals even though ore grades have been decreasing. Furthermore, it shows that the rate of technological improvement must increase if metals are to be produced even more cheaply in the future. Acknowledgements 5 Contents 6 About the Authors 7 List of Figures 8 List of Tables 12 Sec1 13 Sec2 13 Sec3 14 Sec4 14 Sec5 14 Units, Conversions and Abbreviations 13 1 Doctor Copper and King Coal 16 Abstract 16 1.1 Why Doctor Copper and King Coal 16 1.2 Copper: A Most Useful Metal 18 1.3 Properties that Make Copper Desirable 23 1.4 Coal: The Energy for the Industrial Revolution 28 1.5 Our Current Use of Coal 29 1.6 The Essential Properties of Coal 30 References 34 2 Copper and Coal Resources 36 Abstract 36 2.1 Copper Mineralogy and Formation 37 2.2 Coal Composition and Formation 45 References 50 3 Copper and Coal Through the Ages 51 Abstract 51 3.1 Earliest Metalsmiths 52 3.2 Out of the Dark Ages 80 3.3 The First Modern Mines 106 3.4 The Age of Electricity 124 3.5 The Mega Mines 150 References 160 4 The Future for Copper and Coal 170 Abstract 170 4.1 Consumption of Copper and Coal Since 1940 170 4.2 Defining Sustainability 171 4.3 Sustainability Predictions Based on Reserves 174 4.4 Evaluating the Sustainability of Copper and Coal 183 4.5 Sustainability of Coal Production 186 4.6 Sustainability of Copper Production 189 4.7 Conclusions 195 References 196 Glossary 199 Index 202 Front Matter....Pages i-xix Doctor Copper and King Coal....Pages 1-20 Copper and Coal Resources....Pages 21-35 Copper and Coal Through the Ages....Pages 37-155 The Future for Copper and Coal....Pages 157-185 Back Matter....Pages 187-196