Copper Mine
Copper Mines are finite Coin deposits introduced in the original Age of Empires III. A mine contains 2,000 Coin, gathers at the standard 1-per-second rate and can be worked by up to 20 gatherers. Copper is especially associated with Araucania, but map generation determines whether a deposit is available.
Resource amount & access
Villagers and other eligible gatherers mine Coin from the deposit. Market technologies such as Placer Mines and Amalgamation improve mining efficiency. In Definitive Edition, a Prospector Wagon can create a Copper Mine, adding a way to establish this source when the civilization and shipment permit it. The deposit is exhausted as workers gather; it does not replenish.
Map scouting & economy
Scout the mine before reallocating a large group of Villagers, since a 2,000-Coin source can be depleted quickly under heavy gathering. Use its concentrated output to support a unit or technology timing, and prepare Estates, crates or another Coin source for later. If a Prospector Wagon creates a mine, protect the site and plan its gatherers against the wagon and Coin investment.
Finite deposits and the pace of extraction
A Copper Mine contains 2,000 Coin and gathers at the standard rate of 1 Coin per second before mining improvements. Up to 20 gatherers can work it, but a larger workforce spends that finite stock more quickly; it does not make the deposit renewable. Use the Market's Placer Mines and Amalgamation improvements when their cost and timing are worthwhile, and plan a transition before the mine runs out. In contrast to a long-term economy based on renewable or continuously supplied sources, this deposit is best treated as a finite pool for a defined production or research phase.
Map placement and Prospector Wagons
Copper deposits are associated with Araucania, but the generated map determines whether and where they appear. Definitive Edition also records a Prospector Wagon as a way to establish a Copper Mine when that option is available. A created mine still needs workers, protection and a safe route; the wagon does not provide Coin by itself. Scout the site, account for the wagon and mining investment, then decide whether the deposit is safer or more useful than another Coin source. Keep a replacement plan ready so military production does not stop when the finite stock is exhausted.