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Copper is relatively common around the Mediterranean and was to be found in nuggets and masses on the surface of the earth, adjacent to streams, in the walls of canyons. Exposure to weather changes copper's reddish colour to blue-green.

Cyprus had, in relation to its size, the richest copper deposits in the ancient world, making it the major supplier of metal in the Mediterranean. From the prehistoric period until the Christian era, the island produced an estimated 200,000 tons of copper. The modern name for the metal came from Cuprum, the Roman name of the island.