Safford Mine
Encyclopedia
The Safford Mine is an open-pit copper mine located in Graham County, Arizona
, eight miles (13 km) north of the city of Safford
. The mine is owned and operated by Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold
.
Construction on the Safford mine began in mid-2006. Production began December 26, 2007, with full production started in 2008. It is the first new large-scale copper mining project in Arizona in more than 30 years. In September of 2005, as part of the deal, Phelps Dodge (which was subsequently purchased by Freeport-McMoran) transferred 3867 acres (15.6 km²) of "environmentally sensitive" land to the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) and purchased 16297 acres (66 km²), located next to where the mine is located, from the BLM.
The mine composes two porphyry copper deposits (the San Juan and Dos Pobres copper ore bodies) that have leachable oxide and secondary sulfide mineralization. Freeport-McMoran estimates that it will remove 205 to 240 million pounds of copper from the deposits annually between 2008 and 2011.
The area where the mine is located is at an average elevation of 4186 feet (1,275.9 m).
The mine is served by a branch of the Arizona Eastern Railway.
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:...
, eight miles (13 km) north of the city 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...
. The mine is owned and operated by Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold
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...
.
Construction on the Safford mine began in mid-2006. Production began December 26, 2007, with full production started in 2008. It is the first new large-scale copper mining project in Arizona in more than 30 years. In September of 2005, as part of the deal, Phelps Dodge (which was subsequently purchased by Freeport-McMoran) transferred 3867 acres (15.6 km²) of "environmentally sensitive" land to the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
(BLM) and purchased 16297 acres (66 km²), located next to where the mine is located, from the BLM.
The mine composes two porphyry copper deposits (the San Juan and Dos Pobres copper ore bodies) that have leachable oxide and secondary sulfide mineralization. Freeport-McMoran estimates that it will remove 205 to 240 million pounds of copper from the deposits annually between 2008 and 2011.
The area where the mine is located is at an average elevation of 4186 feet (1,275.9 m).
The mine is served by a branch of the Arizona Eastern Railway.
External links
- Safford Mine - Freeport-McMoran Copper & GoldFreeport-McMoRanFreeport-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...