Copper has a dirty history. In the late 19th century, a thirst for copper—primarily to make the wiring that ushered in the so-called “Electrical Age”—led to the development of open pit mining, a destructive form of extraction later used to mine dozens of other materials.
A century later, open pit copper mining remains disastrous for the environment. It requires large quantities of water, contaminates nearby soil and waterways, and produces radioactive waste.
Today, mining executives are pushing to change the narrative around copper, rebranding the metal as essential to the green energy transition. They now argue its environmental benefits outweigh the devastation of its extraction. Indeed, copper is necessary to build wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicle batteries.
This project reports on the major copper rebrand, and its political, economic, and environmental ramifications.
