A pickup with a Uhaul could cary a couple of tons to a less conscientious state in a few hours.

Copper thieves tend to not have access to a LOT of copper--let alone tons. If that much is stolen, then it is easily traced within a multi-state area. That amount of copper being sold at once (by a walk-in seller hauling it in a truck or trailer) would be VERY noticeable to even a copper reseller.

I know because I worked at a business that used an almost pure (99+%) REE (rare earth element). Someone stole a partial bucket of the REE scrap used to produce the pumps they made. He tried to sell the scrap to a scrap metal yard. The yard called the cops because the business was the ONLY ONE in a multi-state area that used that REE. So, they knew it was stolen. The business returns the unusable REE to the producer for credit so it can be re-smelted and used again. That is NOT going to happen unless it is done in a furnace at least 6000+ degrees F. Where would YOU find such a furnace? You realistically would NOT.

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