Classification of Secondary Copper Resources in Major Countries

Abstract

For the sustainable use of metals, one must consider as resources not only primary metals in the natural environment but also secondary metals in society. This study applied the classification framework of secondary resources to copper and assessed the secondary copper reserves and resources of the seven major countries in details. Our results show that the United States has the largest secondary copper reserves (44 Mt), followed by China (33 Mt). Italy, Japan and Germany have similar amount of secondary copper reserves (~15 Mt). On a per capita basis, the largest per-capita amount of 250kg/person was found in Italy. As wastes in managed landfill sites, China and the United States have quite large amounts of secondary copper resources of 26 Mt and 23 Mt. In Japan, the amount was estimated at 10 Mt, which is about two times larger than Italy and Germany. The application of the classification framework showed that considerable amounts of secondary copper resources are in landfills, which are the potential targets of future extraction of secondary copper through landfill mining.