If a market for copper production is operating at a quantity above the socially efficient equilibrium, what is the primary cause of the deadweight loss observed in this scenario?

When a market for copper production operates at a quantity above the socially efficient equilibrium, it means that more copper is being produced than is actually needed for society. This overproduction leads to deadweight loss because the costs of producing that extra copper exceed the benefits that consumers receive from it. Essentially, resources are being wasted on producing copper that people do not value as much as it costs to make. For example, if a factory produces too much copper, the extra copper might sit unused, leading to wasted materials and labor, which could have been better used elsewhere. Thus, the primary cause of deadweight loss in this scenario is the imbalance between the cost of production and the actual value to consumers.