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Copper & Copper
Alloy
Fabricated
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Ancient civilization is thought to have passed through the stone age, then the copper age and then the bronze age. In the stone age, even the existence of metal might not have been known, and shining nuggets at the bottom of rivers or at the surface of the earth must have been thought as nothing but unique stones. Man discovered copper by chance around 7000 - 8000 B.C., and it is thought to be the first metal ever used by man.
| Around 6000 B.C. large quantities of green malachite and blue copper-bearing ores were discovered in Mesopotamia, South Asia. Both the technology to separate metal from ore and the fact that metal detaches from furnace well when wood is used for fuel were thought to be discovered by accident. After that, in Egypt, copper weapons and copper wares used as funerary objects were unearthed from graves from around 5000 B.C. |
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| Part
of
the
copper
tube
used
in
the
Abusir
Temple |
There is a record that copper ore was mined in Sinai Peninsula by King Snefru around 3800 B.C. and crucibles of the time were also discovered. They constitute evidence that the people then already had the technology to refine copper ore. There is also the fact that copper was used to make water supply tubes at the Abusir Temple in Egypt, which was constructed around 2750 B.C.. To make the tubes, copper was beaten out thin and then rolled. |
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A large quantity of copper was produced in Cyprus around 3000 B.C. Since Cyprus had large mineral deposits of copper and it was valuable, dominion over the island was successively transferred from Egypt, to Assyria, Phoenicia, Greece, Persia and finally to Rome. Most of Rome's copper supply came from Cyprus. In the beginning, copper was called Cypriot ore, then called cyprium, cyprum and then cuprum. These words are the origin of the English word copper, and chemical symbol of copper, Cu, came from the first two letters of the Latin word.
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| Copper
in Chinese writing |
What does the Chinese character copper( ), consisting of gold ( ) on the left side and same ( ) on the right side, mean? A long time ago in China,gold ()/ silver ( )/copper () was generally considered gold () (in the general sense of precious metal) and if it was necessary to discriminate them, gold () was called yellow gold ( ), silver () was called white gold ( ) and copper () was called red gold ( ) . The character of [ ] is not found on the inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells (  ) in the Yin dynasty (1400-1027 B.C.), but it can be found in documents written in the latter half of the Spring and Autumn era. It is obvious that a character which has a gold () stands for metal,
but why was same () used? Is it because copper shines in the same manner
as gold () , or as some people say because copper is the metal which is mined by digging a tunnel the inside of which is empty with air running through as it is in tube ( ) or cave ( )? In either case, it can be said that 渡ames and natures often agree.� |
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| The first use of copper in Japan is thought to be around 300 B.C. (Yayoi era) Copper was first brought to Japan from mainland China during the bronze age, and at that time bronze goods, such as copper swords, copper pikes and copper glass, flourished mainly in North Kyushu, after which they spread to East Japan. The very first production of copper ore was in 698 (Bunbu 2), and the local government of Inaba (Tottori prefecture) is said to have inscribed copper-bearing ores to the imperial court. Also in 708 (Keiwun 5), currencies (Wadokaiho) were produced using copper inscribed by Chichibu, Musashi and the name of the era was also changed to Wado. |
Fuhonsen in almost perfect shape |
Recently, the fact that "Fuhonsen" ancient coins, which was discovered at the Asukaike site built in the latter half of seventh century, was discovered to have been cast over 700 years before. In addition to coins, excavation of a large quantity of melted copper from the site shows that copper production volume of the latter half of seventh century had already reached a significant level.
Since then, various ores were successively discovered throughout the country. From the Nara era to the Heian era, a lot of bronze Buddhist statue, Buddhist articles and handicrafts were made, and in 749 (Tenpyo 21), through the construction of the Todaiji Buddha statue, which was made at the request of the emperor of Shomu, the technology for copper refining and casting was greatly improved.
After Japan entered the Muromachi era, import and export trade with China, Spain, Portugal and Holland began and demand for weapons, coins and household goods flourished in Japan and abroad. Especially in Kanbun, Genroku, during the Edo era, copper replaced gold and silver as the main trade commodity in Nagasaki. |
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| Becoming the world痴 best copper-producing country |
| In 1697, at a time when most of the copper mines in the new continent of America were not yet developed, Japan痴 production volume of copper led the world with about 10 million kin (6,000 tons), and Nagasaki痴 export volume was nearly half of this figure. |
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| Development of the copper & copper alloy manufacturing industry |
| Around this time, new copper mines were discovered, machining methods were also improved as water mills came to be used as a source of power, and the method of hand-beating fabrication, which lengthens copper by hand beating, was introduced. The rolling of copper by steam engine at the Osaka mint in 1870 (Meiji 3) was the beginning of mechanized copper and copper alloy manufacturing using modern facilities, and after that, copper and copper alloy manufacturing was also begun at other mints. Stimulated by these events, private businesses also started mechanized production of copper and copper alloy fabricated goods. |
| The copper and copper alloy manufacturing industry during the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) periods was characterized by the rise of large enterprises that drew on the originality and ingenuity of existing individually-owned companies and the introduction of Western technology. After the beginning of the Showa era (from 1926), distribution was controlled to exclusively satisfy military demand during the war years, and expansion of civil demand only started after the war. Since then, Japan became the world痴 leading producer of copper and copper alloy products. Though copper is widely used for construction in most other countries, in Japan it is mainly used for electrical parts. Especially, as a necessary material for the growing IT field, copper supports Japan痴 position as a supplier of the world痴 electrical parts. |
20-Hi finishing mill |
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