Pub. 7 2017 Issue 3

15 MINING FOCUS from collecting on filters. Silver is most effective when the air is warm and humid. Copper, on the other hand, works at all temperatures and does not need moisture or humidity in order to be effective. Each metal has its best uses and applications. Silver ions are being added t o t he wa t e r pur i f i ca t i on systems in community water systems, hospitals, pools and spas. Silver ions also are used in connections, pipes, and water tanks. The silver ions prevent Legionnaire’s disease, which is a serious type of pneumonia, by preventing the Legionella bacteria from growing. The Environmental Protection Agency has registered copper all oys as being able to kill 99.9 percent of bacteria within a two-hour period of time. Some scientists have started exploring the benefits of combining s i l ve r, c oppe r, and c e r am i c t o destroy bacteria synergistically. The antimicrobial characteristics of silver and copper have now been applied to everything from bandages to all kinds of hospital surfaces. If this sounds groundbreaking, the irony is that this is really old news. People knew how to manage microbial infections in ancient Babylon, China, Egypt, and Greece. For example, soldiers from Egypt and Babylon would put filings from their bronze swords into their wounds. Sharpening the swords gave them a sharp sword, of course, but applying the filings to wounds also reduced infection so soldiers could heal faster. Hippocrates used copper carbonate and copper oxide to treat skin infections by combining them with honey, olive paste, and sodium carbonate. The Aztecs did the same thing. In Paris, men who worked with copper did not contract cholera during cholera epidemics; French wineries used something called Bordeaux mixture, which consisted of slaked lime and copper sulphate, on their vines to prevent fungal infections. Copper and silver continue to be ef fective as antimicrobials in our modern society. Why haven’t microbes adapted to copper the way they have with the antibiotics on which we’ve grown to depend? They don’t get the chance. Copper ions attack microbes when the microbes land on the surface. The microbe cells are destroyed because the copper ions prevent respiration, penetrate the membrane of the bacterial cell, or disrupt the viral coat. Then they destroy the DNA and RNA inside the cell. Copper even kills MRSA and ESKAPE pathogens … the main cause of infections that people get while in a hospital. Copper wor ks much bet ter t han stainless steel, which can be cleaned but develops microscopic scratches and indentations where superbugs and viruses can hide. Copper, on the other hand, works to destroy those superbugs and viruses all day, every day, regardless of moisture, humidity, or temperature. One study documented a 58 percent reduction in infection rates as a result of using copper alloys in three intensive care units in the U.S. When copper alloys are used in wards such as intensive care units and then cleaned on a routine basis, the numbers of live bacteria on the surfaces are reduced by 90 percent. Copper is also being used increasingly in places where people tend to gather: airports, buses, professional kitchens, gyms, trains, and train stations. In years to come, expect to see bed rails, call buttons, chair arms, door handles, IV poles, over-bed tables, and taps in hospitals made of copper alloys. And where will we get the raw materials to create these antimicrobial alloys? Like most everything else we use in our everyday lives, they will be produced by miners. Helping people live longer and healthier lives is just one of the many benefits of mining. In fact, it’s the most important one. X Copper is also being used increasingly in places where people tend to gather: airports, buses, professional kitchens, gyms, trains, and train stations. In years to come, expect to see bed rails, call buttons, chair arms, door handles, IV poles, over-bed tables, and taps in hospitals made of copper alloys.