A copper mining operation discharges waste products into a river and causes higher costs and discomfort to downstream users of the water for which they are not compensated. In this case Select an answer and submit. For keyboard navigation, use the up/down arrow keys to select an answer. a the optimal amount of society's resources is being used to produce copper. b there is an external benefit to society from copper production. Ñ too little of society's resources is being used to produce copper. d too much of society's resources is being used to produce copper.