The Han Tribe actually had quite a few copper mines. The nearest was the Eight Treasures Mountain Copper Mine, while farther away, in the sandbar region along the middle reaches of the Liuyang River—the same place where the Li Tribe that had first discovered cats lived—there was also a copper mine. However, the Han Tribe had yet to establish a presence there, so it had never been mined.
Farther north, in Heyuan Commandery, controlled by You Ye, he had previously reported another copper mine and even organized its mining and smelting. Later, however, Luo Chong ordered the mine closed, and mining had not continued.
Finally, at the distant southern tip of the continent, there was also a huge copper mine on Qiongzhou Island. The former Xin Tribe had mined it for many years. After the Han Tribe took over, however, it was currently maintaining only limited mining, and it was not of much use.
At present, the only place where the Han Tribe could stably obtain copper over the long term was the Eight Treasures Mountain mine in Liuyang Commandery. The copper produced there also had to supply the entire tribe's copper consumption.
The biggest consumer of copper was the Han Tribe's currency. Now it also had to account for weapons and ammunition. Even though the Han Tribe had actively adopted bullet-reloading technology to save cartridge cases, its ammunition reserves could not be allowed to fall too low. The bullets' noses also needed brass jackets. This part consumed little copper, but it was basically impossible to recover.
You could pick up the cartridge cases, but where were you supposed to find the bullet heads?
There were also various copper components needed in machinery. Although their consumption was not great, there was still a certain demand.
If the Han Tribe suddenly