Copper cycle

Human mining and extraction activities have exerted large influence on the copper cycle.

[1] The diagram immediately below shows the global copper reservoirs labeled with sizes in μg/g inside parentheses.

The largest copper reservoirs are metal use (production, fabrication, use, discard), the core, and the crust.

The largest fluxes are from copper metal use and soil, between the crust and mantle, and from the freshwater to oceans.

Anthropogenic reservoirs include copper's manufacturing life cycle (production, fabrication, usage, and discard), fossil fuels, and agricultural biomass.

[1] As the Earth's crust weathers, soil and sediment is formed, and some copper is mobilized from freshwater to the ocean.