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Feb 22, 1540
Expedition to find the Seven Cities of Gold
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led an expedition into Arizona in search of the seven cities of Cibola but failed to find any riches. [Source](Arizona History & Government) -
Antonio do Espejo finds silver
Espejo, a Spanish explorer leading an expedition to Arizona and New Mexico, did find a little silver in 1583 but no mining was conducted. After Espejo found silver, Juan do Onate and his men found some silver in the Prescott area but the ore wasn't mined. -
Silver discovered in Arizonac
Large nuggets of silver were discovered 20 miles west of Nogales. Native Americans call this place Arizonac and it is possible that this is where Arizona got its name. This led to a big mining rush that exhausted the mine of all the silver.
[Source](Arizona History & Government) -
Spanish trade for Peace
Mining was very risky for Spanish Explorers before this time, since the native’s (Apache and Navajo) didn’t want foreigners mining in their land. In 1780, Viceroy Galvez introduced the “Peace by Deceit” plan. The natives would be given food, guns, and whiskey in trade for the end of hostilities. This resulted in about 30 years of virtually unhindered mining. Source -
Tom Childs rediscovers copper
Tom Childs Jr. led a party of 19 into what is now present day Arizona to look for Plancas de Plata (the site of a previous discovery of large nodes of silver). Childs instead found abandoned copper mines at Ajo. Some time later this led to the creation of Arizona Mining & Trading company, formed by Childs friend Peter M. Brady. Source -
Gold Rush in Cali. and end of Mexican-American War
Two things happened, first the California gold rush started, bringing national attention to the American Southwest. Then nine days later, the Mexican-American War officially ends giving the territory East of the Rio Grande, New Mexico and upper California to the United States. This increased the flow of settlers and miners into Arizona. Source -
Cave in Prescott, AZ
The United Verde Coppper MIne caved in on July 23, 1898. The mine belonged to senator Clark. http://www.gendisasters.com/arizona/3749/prescott%2C-az-mine-cave-%2C-jul-1898 -
Mining explosion Jerome, AZ
The explosion in Jerome, AZ killed 5 men and injured several other men. It started during a shift change on a grave yard shift, most of the men were above ground when the fire started. There were heavy rains that evening that had made its way underground to a smoldering fire that has been settling for the last few years. The men who died could not get up in time and suffocated with all the smoke. http://www.gendisasters.com/arizona/13406/jerome-az-mine-explosion-apr-1905 -
Arizona's first open pit copper mine
Arizona's first open pit copper mine opened at Ajo in 1917. The area was mostly idle until the New Cornelia mine 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. source -
Copper Mine Shaft Fire in Superior, AZ
The fire started around 4am killing two men, and five men were lost in the ruins of the 2,250 foot mine. There were originally 49 men on the shaft but 43 of them escaped unharmed. http://www.gendisasters.com/arizona/20285/superior-az-copper-mine-shaft-fire-nov-1927 -
SX/EW Process used on large scale
Ranchers Exploration and Development Corporation at its Bluebird Mine in Arizona in 1968 first demonstrated it on a large scale. Solvent extraction and electrowinning is a two-stage hydrometallurgical process that first extracts and upgrades copper ions from low-grade leach solutions into a solvent containing a chemical that selectively reacts with and binds the copper in the solvent. source -
Arizona copper mine strike of 1983
The Arizona copper mine strike of 1983 began as a bargaining dispute between the Phelps Dodge Corporation and a group of union copper miners and mill workers, led by the United Steelworkers. The subsequent strike lasted nearly three years, and resulted in replacement of most of the striking workers and decertification of the unions. It is regarded as an important event in the history of the United States labor movement. source -
Arizona leads U.S. in copper production
In 2007, Arizona was the leading copper producing state in the U.S, producing 750 thousand metric tons of copper, worth $5.54 billion. That year, Arizona's copper production was 60% of the total for the United States. Fun fact, if Arizona were a country, it would be the 7th leading copper producer in the whole world. Morenci Mine, #1 copper producing mine in North America.
Greenlee County, AZ Source -
Canyon Mine: Uranimum Mining in the Grand Canyon
Canyon Mine originally opened in 1986 but was closed down before mining even started due to a huge price drop in Uranium. The mining started back up in 2001. After years of mining, the Havasupai Tribe and Grand Canyon Trust filed a law suit in 2014 against the mining at Canyon Mine for mining too close to sacred land and for contaminating the drinking water of the Colorado River. The most recent hearing won't be until this year, late 2017. Source -
Current Economic Impact of Mining in AZ
The mining industry is an important contributor to Arizona's economy, providing a total economic impact of approximately $4.3 billion in 2016. An estimated 43,800 jobs in Arizona are connected to mining in some way. Mining jobs pay an average wage of $102,859, more than twice that of all Arizona jobs. Mining continues to be a leading industry in several rural counties. These counties include Greenlee, Pinal and Yavapai.
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