Copper mining in Arizona - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Jerome

Native Americans used copper minerals of the Verde district at modern-day Jerome

Jerome, Arizona

Jerome is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 353.-History:...

as pigment to decorate skin and textiles. The first European to visit the area is thought to be Spanish explorer Antonio de Espejo

Antonio de Espejo

Antonio de Espejo was a Spanish explorer who led an expedition into New Mexico and Arizona in 1582-1583. The expedition created interest in establishing a Spanish colony among the Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande valley.-Life:...

, who found silver at a location in central Arizona in 1583. No mining resulted, and Juan de Oñate

Juan de Oñate

Don Juan de Oñate y Salazar was a Spanish explorer, colonial governor of the New Spain province of New Mexico, and founder of various settlements in the present day Southwest of the United States.-Biography:...

led another expedition searching for Espejo’s silver location in 1598; many claims were staked, but the expeditioners returned to Santa Fe

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

without mining any silver, and the deposits remained unexploited.

The United Verde mine exhausted the rich oxidized ores in 1884, and the mine closed. William A. Clark of Montana visited the district in 1888, bought it, and reopened the mine. The smelter at Clarkdale

Clarkdale, Arizona

Clarkdale is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 3,836.Clarkdale, formerly a mining town, is now largely a retirement community with an eye for the arts.-History:...

was built in 1915.

Ajo

Spaniards

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

mined on a small scale at Ajo

Ajo, Arizona

Ajo is a census-designated place in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 3,705 at the 2000 census. Ajo is located on State Route 85 just from the Mexican border. It is the closest community to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument....

as early as 1750. After the Gadsden Purchase

Gadsden Purchase

The Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States in a treaty signed by James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico at the time, on December 30, 1853. It was then ratified, with changes, by the U.S...

brought the southern Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

into the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in 1853, America reopened the mine in 1855, and shipped high-grade ore to Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. However, the remote desert location made mining generally uneconomic without onsite treatment. The area was mostly idle until the New Cornelia mine

New Cornelia mine

The New Cornelia mine is a currently inactive open-pit copper mine in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It was the only productive mine in the Ajo mining district, and is located just outside the town of Ajo, which was built as a company town to serve the New Cornelia miners...

opened in 1917 as the first large open-pit mine in Arizona. Mining continued in the district until 1983. The district produced 6.304 billion pounds of copper.

Clifton-Morenci district

Prospectors from Silver City, New Mexico

Silver City, New Mexico

Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 10,545. It is the county seat of Grant County. The city is the home of Western New Mexico University.-History:...

discovered copper mineralization at Morenci

Morenci, Arizona

Morenci is a census-designated place in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,879 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area...

, also known as the Greenlee

Greenlee County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*77.2% White*1.1% Black*2.3% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.8% Two or more races*15.0% Other races*47.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

district in 1872. Mining began the following year, and miners extracted and smelted high-grade copper ore until a railroad reached the district in 1884 and a concentrator made mining and processing of low-grade ore economical.

The Morenci mine, owned jointly by Freeport-McMoran and Sumitomo, is the largest copper producer in the state, and regularly contributes about half of Arizona's copper production.

Bisbee (Warren district)

An army scout noted copper mineralization in the Warren district at present-day Bisbee

Bisbee, Arizona

Bisbee is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, 82 miles southeast of Tucson. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 6,177...

in 1877. Production began in 1880 after a rich discovery of copper oxide on the Copper Queen claim. The success of the Copper Queen mine

Copper Queen Mine

The Copper Queen Mine was the copper mine in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, that gave birth to the surrounding town of Bisbee. In the early 1900s it was the most productive copper mine in Arizona.- History :...

convinced Phelps Dodge

Phelps Dodge

Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 by Anson Greene Phelps and William Earle Dodge, Sr.. On March 19, 2007, it was acquired by Freeport-McMoRan and now operates under the name Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.-History:...

to buy the adjacent Atlantic claim in 1881. Phelps Dodge

Phelps Dodge

later bought control of the Copper Queen and adjacent claims.

Although Phelps Dodge was the largest mining company in Bisbee, it was not the only one. The Calumet and Arizona company formed in 1901, and operated the large and profitable mine of the same name adjacent to the Copper Queen. By 1907, the C&A was the fourth-most productive copper mine in Arizona, and ran its own smelter in Douglas, Arizona

Douglas, Arizona

Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico and a history of mining.The population was 14,312 at the 2000 census...

.

Phelps Dodge started mining the Lavender open pit

Lavender Pit

The Lavender Pit is a former open pit copper mine near Bisbee in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. It is located near the famous Copper Queen Mine. The Lavender Pit was named in honor ofHarrison M...

in the early 1950s. The Lavender pit closed in 1974.

The Copper Queen mine, Bisbee's first working mine, was also its last. Mining stopped in 1975, although the Copper Queen still offers tours.

The Warren district is credited with having produced 7.92 billion pounds (3.59 million mt) of copper. In addition, the district recovered 324 million pounds (147,000 t) of lead, 355 million pounds (161,000 t) of zinc, 28 million pounds (13,000 t) of manganese, 2.79 million ounces (86.8 t) of gold and 102 million ounces (3177 t) of silver.

Globe-Miami district

Silver mining started at Globe

Globe, Arizona

Globe has an arid climate, characterized by hot summers and moderate to warm winters. Globe's arid climate is somewhat tempered by its elevation, however, leading to slightly cooler temperatures and slightly more precipitation than Phoenix or Yuma....

in 1874. The silver mines shut down in 1877, but the following year copper mining took over.

White Mesa district

The White Mesa copper-mining district is in the western part of the Navajo

Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...

reservation, 112 miles (180.2 km) northeast of Flagstaff

Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...

, in Coconino County

Coconino County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*61.7% White*1.2% Black*27.3% Native American*1.4% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.1% Two or more races*5.2% Other races*13.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

. The copper deposits consist of malachite

Malachite

Malachite is a copper carbonate mineral, with the formula Cu2CO32. This green-colored mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses. Individual crystals are rare but do occur as slender to acicular prisms...

and chrysocolla

Chrysocolla

Chrysocolla is a hydrated copper silicate mineral with formula 2H2Si2O54·nH2O.-Properties:Chrysocolla has a blue-green color and is a minor ore of copper, having a hardness of 2.5 to 3.5.-Name and discovery:...

as grain coatings in the Jurassic

Jurassic

The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...

Navajo Sandstone

Navajo Sandstone is a geologic formation in the Glen Canyon Group that is spread across the U.S. states of northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, and Utah; as part of the Colorado Plateau province of the United States...

. They were first mined on a small scale by Mormon

Mormon

The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

settlers in the 19th century, then briefly in 1917, and again 1939-1941. The district produced about 550,000 pounds of copper and a small amount of silver.

Leading copper-producing mines

Leading copper-producing mines in the Arizona in 2005, in order of output:

Rank	Mine	County	Operator	Source of copper	Capacity (thousands of metric tons)
1	Morenci	Greenlee Greenlee County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:77.2% White1.1% Black2.3% Native American0.5% Asian0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander3.8% Two or more races15.0% Other races47.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold...	Copper ore, leached	390
2	Ray	Pinal Pinal County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:72.4% White4.6% Black5.6% Native American1.7% Asian0.4% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander3.8% Two or more races11.5% Other races28.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	ASARCO ASARCO ASARCO LLC is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona that mines and processes primarily copper. The company, a subsidiary of Grupo México, is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy...	Copper ore, concentrated and leached	170
3	Bagdad	Yavapai Yavapai County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:89.3% White0.6% Black1.7% Native American0.8% Asian0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander2.5% Two or more races5.0% Other races13.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold...	Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached	100
4	Sierrita	Pima Pima County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:74.3% White3.5% Black3.3% Native American2.6% Asian0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander3.7% Two or more races12.4% Other races34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold...	Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached	100
5	Mission Complex	Pima Pima County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:74.3% White3.5% Black3.3% Native American2.6% Asian0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander3.7% Two or more races12.4% Other races34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	ASARCO ASARCO ASARCO LLC is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona that mines and processes primarily copper. The company, a subsidiary of Grupo México, is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy...	Copper ore, concentrated	70
6	Silver Bell	Pima Pima County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:74.3% White3.5% Black3.3% Native American2.6% Asian0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander3.7% Two or more races12.4% Other races34.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	ASARCO ASARCO ASARCO LLC is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona that mines and processes primarily copper. The company, a subsidiary of Grupo México, is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy...	Copper ore, leached	22
7	Miami	Gila Gila County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:76.8% White0.4% Black14.8% Native American0.5% Asian0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander2.0% Two or more races5.4% Other races17.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold...	Copper ore, leached	50
8	Pinto Valley	Gila Gila County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:76.8% White0.4% Black14.8% Native American0.5% Asian0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander2.0% Two or more races5.4% Other races17.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	BHP Copper BHP Billiton BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...	Copper ore, leached	5
9	Miami	Gila Gila County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:76.8% White0.4% Black14.8% Native American0.5% Asian0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander2.0% Two or more races5.4% Other races17.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	BHP Copper BHP Billiton BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...	Copper ore, leached	5
* (TBD)	Tohono	Pinal Pinal County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:72.4% White4.6% Black5.6% Native American1.7% Asian0.4% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander3.8% Two or more races11.5% Other races28.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	Cyprus Amax Minerals		Closed
* (TBD)	Mineral Park	Mohave Mohave County, Arizona Mohave County is located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 200,186, an increase of 45,154 people since the 2000 census count of 155,032. The county seat is Kingman...	Mercator Minerals		6
* (TBD)	Bisbee	Cochise Cochise County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:78.5% White4.2% Black1.2% Native American1.9% Asian0.3% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander4.0% Two or more races9.6% Other races32.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold...		Closed
* (TBD)	Safford Safford Mine The Safford Mine is an open-pit copper mine located in Graham County, Arizona, eight miles north of the city of Safford. The mine is owned and operated by Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold....	Graham Graham County, Arizona -2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:72.1% White1.8% Black14.4% Native American0.5% Asian0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander2.8% Two or more races8.3% Other races30.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...	Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold...	Copper ore, leached	(Opened December 2007)

Six of the mines are owned and operated by Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold...

, three by ASARCO

ASARCO

ASARCO LLC is a mining, smelting, and refining company based in Tucson, Arizona that mines and processes primarily copper. The company, a subsidiary of Grupo México, is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy...

, and one each by BHP Billiton

BHP Billiton

BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...

and Mercator Minerals.

In addition, BHP Billiton

BHP Billiton

BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...

's Pinto Valley mine in Pinal County restarted copper-molybdenum concentration in late 2007; this portion of its operations had been shut down in 1998.

Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold...

has opened its new Safford Mine

Safford Mine

The Safford Mine is an open-pit copper mine located in Graham County, Arizona, eight miles north of the city of Safford. The mine is owned and operated by Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold....

, eight miles (13 km) north of the town of Safford

Safford, Arizona

- History :Safford was founded by Joshua Eaton Bailey, Hiram Kennedy and Edward Tuttle, who came from Gila Bend, in southwestern Arizona. They left Gila Bend in the winter of 1873-74; their work on canals and dams having been destroyed by high water the previous summer...

in Graham County

Graham County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*72.1% White*1.8% Black*14.4% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.8% Two or more races*8.3% Other races*30.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

. The Safford mine, in a large porphyry copper deposit, will be the largest new copper mine put on production in Arizona in more than 30 years.

Other potential new copper mines are the Carlota project (owned by Quadra FNX Mining) in Pinal County and expected to start in 2008, and the Rosemont project (owned by Augusta Resources) in Pima County.

Mining of the Resolution Copper

Resolution copper

Resolution Copper, , is a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP, formed to develop and operate an underground copper mine on deeded, unpatented and land removed from mining by executive order at Superior, Arizona, U.S. The project targets a deep-seated porphyry copper deposit located under the...

deposit in Pinal County, potentially the largest copper mine in Arizona, is stalled pending a proposed land swap with the federal government. Resolution Copper has proposed to give the federal government 4500 acres (18.2 km²) of environmentally sensitive land in Arizona in exchange for the 3000 acres (12.1 km²) proposed mine site. In May 2009 Arizona Democratic congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick

Ann Kirkpatrick

Ann Kirkpatrick is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She earlier served in the Arizona House of Representatives. She was defeated by Republican Paul Gosar in the 2010 election...

introduced legislation in Washington to complete the land swap. The swap already has the support of Arizona's two Republican senators,