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Copper chains: Study reveals Earth’s deep-seated hold on copper - Earth is clingy when it comes to copper. A new Rice University study this week in Science finds that nature conspires at scales both large and small -- from the realms of tectonic plates down to molecular bonds -- to keep most of Earth's copper buried dozens of miles below ground. The study gives new insight into the way continents form and could help locate new sources of copper. Reference: 'Copper Systematics in Arc Magmas and Implications for Crust-Mantle Differentiation,' C.-T. A. Lee et al, Science 6 April 2012: Vol. 336 no. 6077 pp. 64-68 DOI: 10.1126/science.1217313