List of copper mines in the United States
Appearance
Parts of this article (those related to leading mines) need to be updated.(October 2018) |
The following lists of copper mines in the United States:
Leading copper-producing mines
Leading copper-producing mines in the U.S. in 2015, in order of output:[1] The mines on this list accounted for more than 99% of U.S. mine production in 2015.
Rank | Mine | County and State | Operator | Source of copper | Capacity (thousands of metric tons) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Morenci | Greenlee County, Arizona | Freeport-McMoRan | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached | 480 |
2 | El Chino | Grant County, New Mexico | Freeport-McMoRan | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached | 130 |
3 | Safford | Graham County, Arizona | Freeport-McMoRan | Copper ore, leached | 110 |
4 | Bagdad | Yavapai County, Arizona | Freeport-McMoRan | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached | 100 |
5 | Bingham Canyon | Salt Lake County, Utah | Rio Tinto: Kennecott Utah Copper Corp.(wholly owned subsidiary) | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated | 280 |
6 | Sierrita | Pima County, Arizona | Freeport-McMoRan | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached | 80 |
7 | Ray | Pinal County, Arizona | ASARCO | Copper ore, concentrated and leached | 150 |
8 | Pinto Valley | Gila County, Arizona | Capstone Mining Corp. | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached | 60 |
9 | Mission Complex | Pima County, Arizona | ASARCO | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated | 150 |
10 | Robinson | White Pine County, Nevada | Robinson Nevada Mining Co. | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated | 60 |
11 | Tyrone | Grant County, New Mexico | Freeport-McMoRan | Copper ore, leached | 45 |
12 | Continental Pit | Silver Bow County, Montana | Montana Resources LLP | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated | 40 |
13 | Eagle Mine | Marquette County, Michigan | Lundin Mining | Nickel-copper ore, concentrated | 25 |
14 | Phoenix | Lander County, Nevada | Newmont Mining Corporation | Gold-copper ore, concentrated and leached | 25 |
15 | Miami | Gila County, Arizona | Freeport-McMoRan | Copper ore, leached | 90 |
16 | Silver Bell | Pima County, Arizona | ASARCO | Copper ore, leached | 25 |
17 | Carlota | Gila County, Arizona | KGHM International, Ltd. | Copper ore, leached | 10 |
18 | Lisbon Valley | San Juan County, Utah | Lisbon Valley Mining Company | Copper ore, leached | 10 |
Other copper-producing mines
Mine | County and State | Operator | Type of Deposit | Annual Capacity (metric tons) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mineral Park | Mohave County, Arizona | Mercator Minerals | 4900[2] | |
Tohono | Pinal County, Arizona | Freeport-McMoRan | 1360[3] | |
Johnson Camp | Cochise County, Arizona | Nord Resources | Began production January 2008[2] |
Copper-mining projects not yet in production
Mine | County (Borough) and State | Operator | Type of Deposit | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pebble | Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska | Pebble Mines Corp. | Porphyry copper | Planning |
Rosemont | Pima County, Arizona | Hudbay Minerals | Porphyry Skarn | Plan of operations filed with US Forest Service[4] |
Resolution Copper | Pinal County, Arizona | Rio Tinto Group 55% and BHP Billiton 45% | Operation stalled pending proposed land swap with federal government[2] | |
Northmet | St. Louis County, Minnesota | Polymet Mining | Copper-Nickel-Platinum | State and federal permits applied for an open-pit mine[5] |
Rocky-Beaver Lake | Beaver County, Utah | Copper King Mining | Porphyry | Expected to start production in 2008[6] |
Inactive or defunct copper mines
There are hundreds of inactive or defunct copper mines in the United States. The list below includes only those with Wikipedia articles.
See also
References
- ^ Brininstool, Mark and Flanagan, Daniel M. 2015 Minerals Yearbook: Copper - U.S. Geological Survey - U.S. Department of the Interior - October 2017 - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document)
- ^ a b c Niemuth, Nyal J. "Arizona". Mining Engineering. May 2008. p.71.
- ^ Niemuth, p.72.
- ^ "RosemontEIS - The online center of information and public participation for the Rosemont Copper Project EIS".
- ^ William R. Yernberg, "New projects highlight Minnesota's mining industry," Mining Engineering, July 2008, p.38.
- ^ Bon, R.L., and K.A Krahulec, "Utah," Mining Engineering, May 2008. p.127-128.