Did you know:  A few Facts About Copper Mining
 
This information courtesy of the Arizona Mining Association:
 
Arizona leads the nation in copper production... accounting for 65 percent of the total U.S. mine production. In addition, Arizona is among the leaders in the production of gemstones, molybdenum, silver, perlite, and sand and gravel. There are 72 mining companies operating 126 mines in the state, with an additional 70 sand and gravel producers. More than 15,000 people are directly employed by the mining industry. The major Arizona copper mining companies are Asarco Inc., BHP Copper, and Phelps Dodge Corporation.
 
 Copper has been used since the Stone Age .....because it has unique properties which make it usable in a wide variety of ways. It is ductile, which means that it can be pulled into a very thin wire. Copper is also malleable, which means that it can be bent or hammered into many shapes and very thin sheets without breaking or coming apart. It resists corrosion, standing up to weather and chemicals, and it conducts heat and electricity better than any other metal except silver. In addition, copper's reddish color makes it an important metal for ornamentation. Thus, throughout history copper has been a versatile, valuable, and vital metal.
 
The cost and time to develop a new mine may be as long as 9 years ....and require an investment of $50,000,000 or more just to begin producing copper that can be sold to manufacturers as a commodity. It is very difficult to know how much the price of copper will be when this enormous investment of millions of dollars finally yields a working mine.
 
The average home today contains about 400 pounds of copper.... while the automobile you drive contains about 50 pounds. The cleaner burning electric automobiles that will substantially reduce urban air quality problems in the near future will require even more copper than the combustion engine automobiles of today.