PHOENIX – You’re using it right now.
Reading this article on a laptop, desktop, smartphone or tablet computer, you’re making use of copper.
In an increasingly digital age, our daily lives depend on copper, and historically, the red metal has been the lifeblood of Arizona.
It paved streets in Bisbee, brought to Jerome the state’s first J.C. Penney’s, and raised hospitals, libraries and schools as mining companies developed communities to attract miners.
Even before statehood, Arizona was recognized as the nation’s No. 1 copper producer, a title it holds today.
But just as swiftly as early mining towns flourished after the discovery of copper, the closing of mines rendered some of the communities deserted.
After the mine shut down in Jerome in 1953, the town dwindled to approximately 50 people.
“You could lie down in the street, get up once for the mail truck, lie back down and not be bothered,” said Jerry Vojnic, longtime Jerome resident.
While today, copper production remains economically prominent – last year, the Arizona copper industry directly contributed $970 million to the state’s economy, according to the Western Economic Analysis Center – perspectives on the industry have changed.
Proposals, like for Resolution Copper Mining’s planned mine near Superior and Rosemont Copper’s mine planned near Tucson, are met with some resistance as the environmental impact of copper mining is weighed with greater consideration than in the past.
“The effects of mining have been proven to be damaging to landscapes and drinking water,” said Bret Fanshaw, of Environment Arizona. Yet the group is not “all-out opposed if it is done correctly,” he said.
Yet copper’s importance to modern-day living has experts confident its production is here to stay.
“It’s something I think that blends tremendously well with another resource that we have, and that’s the ‘C’ of climate in the form of sunshine,” said Gary Dillard, editor of PAY DIRT Mining Magazine. “I think taking Arizona’s copper, and turning it into … solar energy infrastructure is something that will be an ideal blending in the future.”