Copper ores

Rocks containing copper compounds (such as copper carbonate) are called ‘copper ore’. Copper is extracted from copper ore by a series of chemical, physical, and electrochemical processes. Ores can be classed as ‘high grade’ or ‘low grade’ depending on the percentage of copper compounds (e.g. copper carbonate) they contain.
After mining, the ore is crushed, roasted, smelted and then electrolysed to extract the copper.

Suggested Equipment
Boiling tube
Samples of different carbonate ores, containing a range of percentages of copper carbonate that have been crushed to a powder.
Measuring cylinder
Stopwatch
Hydrochloric acid
Balance (for weighing)
Spatula

The longer the sample fizzes, the more copper carbonate it contains.

Copper carbonate reacts with acid to produce a salt, carbon dioxide and water. The fizzing (release of carbon dioxide) indicates that a reaction is happening. It may be possible to estimate the amount of Copper Carbonate in ore samples by reacting them with acid and comparing how long they take to stop fizzing.

Measuring the amount of Copper Carbonate in Copper Ore Samples

In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, CO2−
3. The name may also mean an ester of carbonic acid, an organic compound containing the carbonate group C(=O)(O–)2.

The term is also used as a verb, to describe carbonation: the process of raising the concentrations of carbonate and bicarbonate ions in water to produce carbonated water and other carbonated beverages — either by the addition of carbon dioxide gas under pressure, or by dissolving carbonate or bicarbonate salts into the water.