A metal used extensively by the Egyptians for tools, weapons, and vessels. Its use is attested in beads from the early Predynastic Period. Such rare copper statues as those of Pepy I and his son, NemtyemsafI, survive. Copper was found in the Eastern Desert, where copper-smelting activity has been uncovered at Ayn Sokha, Sinai at Wadi Maghara, Nubia near Buhen, and elsewhere. The metal was also mined at times by the Egyptians at Timna in the Negev Desert. It was often hardened by the use of arsenic. It was superceded by bronze from the Middle Kingdom.
Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier
Ancient Egypt. A Reference Guide. EdwART. 2011.