Copper

Probably the very first metal used by humans, with copper tools already being utilized in the New Stone Age (8000 BC). The largest concentrated deposits are located on the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan, but copper is also mined in Chile, Indonesia, Australia and Russia.

Its greatest advantage: its outstanding heat conductivity. This is why brew kettles, heating and cooling coils and electrical cables are made from either pure copper or copper alloys. The price of copper is, however, currently very high. The main reason for this are worldwide economic growth, which brings with it high demand, as well as instability in the supply chain. Mining copper also requires great effort and significant resources. With open-pit mining a thousand tons of rock must be moved in order to extract a single ton of raw copper! Geberit uses copper as a product material or component in alloys for, among other things, fittings, faucets and valves.