The changing landscape of Arizona’s copper industry

Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011
By Tarryn Mento
Cronkite News

Scroll to the right to view the changing landscape of Arizona’s copper industry from statehood to 2010 as told through headlines and mineral statistics.

Prices have been adjusted for inflation. Because values were not available for the years 1912 and 2008, data was used from the respective subsequent years.

Sources: Years 1912 – 1930: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resources of the U.S., (1912-1915 are identified as “derived”), years 1931 – 1994: U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals Yearbook (1980, 1982, 1987 identified as “revised,” 1989-1992 identified as “recoverable” copper ore), years 1995 – 2007: “Prepared under a Memorandum of Understanding between U.S. Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior and the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources,” years 2008 – 2010: “The Economic Industry of the Arizona Copper Industry,” prepared by George F. Leaming, Ph. D., for the Western Economic Analysis Center. (Years 2008 and 2010 production are estimates based on graph readings).

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