Account for the spatial pattern of the Copper ore in the World.
In importance from an industrial point of view copper is next only to iron. However, it occurs in fewer locations than iron ore and the most important deposits are in North America, South America, Africa and Australia. Chile, US, Canada, Armenia, Zambia, Zaire, Australia and South Africa are the leading producers of copper. Philippines and Poland are also among the important copper producing countries. The copper mining area in US extends along the Western Cordilleras from the Canadian border southwards up to Mexico. Arizona is the principal producer of copper with mines near Tucson, Morenci and Globe-Miami. The largest copper producing mine in North America is at Bingham in Utah State. This mine has been worked since 1865. The important copper producing states besides Arizona and Utah are Nevada, Montana and New Mexico.
In Russia copper is found in the southern part of the Urals. However, much of the reserves of this region have been depleted. Copper mines of Kazakhstan used to supply copper to the industry in the Urals before the disintegration of the former USSR. Another copper producing region in Russia lies at Norilsk near Yenisey River. This region lies in the Arctic Circle. Armenia, Georgia and Uzbekistan are important producers of copper. Armenia occupies a high rank among the leading copper producing countries of the world.
Topics: GS-I: Distribution of Key Natural Resources Across the World