This work presents a technique for a rapid and accuracy measurement of copper content using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). This approach improves the accuracy and shortens the measuring time with respect to the current laboratory procedures from hours to 30 s. The models were calibrated and validated via the correlation coefficients (R-c(2) and R-v(2)), the error of prediction (RMSEP) and the error of calibration (RMSEC). The calibration and validation were performed for copper content ranges of 0.04-2.9%. An R-v(2) value of 0.9886 and a RMSEP value of 0.0890 were obtained, showing the accuracy of this method for continuous, real-time and on-line estimation of copper content. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.