Without minerals, we would not have electricity, food, or shelter. Minerals make today’s technology-based life possible, but that’s something many of us take for granted. We want the benefits from those minerals, but some want mining of minerals to be in somebody else’s neighborhood.  The importance of mining has long been recognized:

If we remove metals from the service of man, all methods of protecting and sustaining health and more carefully preserving the course of life are done away with.  If there were no metals, men would pass a horrible and wretched existence in the midst of wild beasts…  -Georgius Agricola, in De Re Metallica, 1556.

For Arizona, it is not just metals.  Arizona produces sand and gravel, limestone for cement production, coal for electrical generation, and a variety of industrial minerals which contribute almost $2 billion to Arizona’s economy (see here).

Arizona has a long history of mining.  There is archeological evidence that cinnabar, coal, turquoise, clay, pigments, and other minerals were mined in Arizona beginning at least 3,000 years ago. (See A History of Mining in AZ by the Arizona Mining Association.)

According to the Arizona Mining Association, Arizona currently produces 68% of domestically mined copper.  With that copper production comes by-product molybdenum, gold, silver, platinum, and rhenium.  Incidentally, The Sierrita Mine south of Tucson is currently the only domestic producer of rhenium, a metal used in high-temperature, super-alloy turbine blades for jet aircraft and other land-based turbines.  The Sierrita plant processes output from other mines on a toll basis. It may soon be joined by a second rhenium plant at the Kennecott (Rio Tinto) mine in Utah.

The direct and indirect economic impact of copper mining on Arizona’s economy is about $4.6 billion annually.  That includes $3.2 billion in personal income,  $500 million in state and local government revenues, and 49,800 high-paying jobs for Arizonans. Average labor income of mining company employees (including benefits) is $108,000 per worker vs. $47,000 for all Arizona workers.  If we add in non-metallic, non-fuel, minerals, then Arizona produced about $8 billion worth of mineral products in 2012 according to the U.S. Geological Survey.  Arizona ranks second, after Nevada, in value of total mineral production.  The U.S. total value of mineral production was about $76 billion which supported more than 1.2 million jobs in 2012.

Arizona is endowed with great mineral resources as shown on the map below prepared by the Arizona Geological Survey.

Currently ASARCO and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold are the two biggest copper producers in the state.  ASARCO operates three mines and a smelter. According to the Southern Arizona Business Coalition, in 2012 ASARCO paid wages and benefits of $215.8 million, property, severance, and sales taxes of $47.2 million, and employed 2,198 people in Arizona. Freeport operates mines in Safford, Morenci, Bagdad, Miami, and Sierrita.  They paid wages and operational spending of $860 million in 2012, taxes of $274 million while employing 7,600 people directly and indirectly employing an additional 30,000 people.

In addition to past and current mining, there are many projects on the horizon, some in the exploratory stage, others navigating the byzantine regulatory permitting process.  (See my posts: Mining and the bureaucracy and How NEPA crushes productivity)

Perhaps the largest project is that of Resolution Copper near the town of Superior just west of the famed Globe-Miami mining district and just north of ASARCO’s Ray mine.  This is a bold undertaking because the orebody is 7,000 feet below the surface.  Resolution says that at peak production, this mine will be the largest copper mine in North America, producing over one billion pounds of copper per year.  Resolution estimates that over the 64-year life of the mine, the project will generate $61.4 billion in economic value, provide $20 billion in tax revenues, and provide 3,700 permanent jobs.

The Rosemont copper mine south of Tucson is nearing the end of its long journey through the regulatory maze, and mine construction may begin early next year.  This mine will generate 2,900 Arizona jobs and inject $19 billion into Arizona’s economy and pay $404 million in local taxes over its 20-year projected life.  The mine expects to produce 243 million pounds of copper per year.

Curis Resources is developing an in-situ copper mine near Florence, Arizona.  In this project, instead of mining rock, Curis Resources “seeks to dissolve copper minerals from an underground deposit by introducing water with a lowered-pH (making it slightly acidic).This low-PH, water-based solution dissolves the copper and allows it to be pumped to the surface through a continuous loop water treatment system.”  This deposit, lying 400-to 1200 feet below the surface contains approximately 2.84 billion pounds of copper.

Curis estimates that over the projected 28-year life of the project, it will generate $2.2 billion in economic activity for the state of Arizona, $1.1 billion in economic activity for Pinal County, $325 million in taxes and royalties for Arizona government, and $1.46 billion in increased personal income in Arizona, 170 direct jobs at the project site in Florence, and 681 jobs in the state of Arizona.

The I-10 copper deposit, located along Interstate 10 between Benson and Willcox, Arizona, is being investigated as another in-situ copper leaching project by  Excelsior Mining Corporation, a Canadian junior company. They estimate the deposit currently contains an indicated oxide copper resource of 3.21 billion pounds and an additional inferred oxide copper resource of 0.88 billion pounds.

Wildcat Silver Corporation is in the exploration stage of its Hermosa Project which is evaluating the silver-manganese potential in the historic Hardshell mining district near Patagonia in Southern Arizona. Their preliminary economic assessment estimates a measured and indicated resource of 236 million ounces of silver and an inferred silver resource of an additional 79 million ounces.  Project life is estimated at 16 years.  Wildcat estimates that annual production will be 4.1 million ounces of silver, 233,000 tons of manganese carbonate, 20,187 tons of zinc cathode, and 960 tons of copper.

Copper Creek is an old mining district located on the east bank of the San Pedro River and on the western slope of the Galiuro Mountains about 75 miles northeast of Tucson. The property has been acquired by Redhawk Resources, a Canadian junior mining company that plans to develop an underground mine for copper, molybdenum, and silver.  Redhawk estimates a resource of 7.75 billion pounds of copper, 150 million pounds of molybdenum, and 32 million ounces of silver.

The Oracle Ridge mine is a small, underground copper mine in the Santa Catalina Mountains just north of Tucson. The mine was operated intermittently, most recently from 1991-1996. The mine is being developed by a junior Canadian mining company, Oracle Ridge Copper (project website).  The company anticipates employing about 200 people to run the mine which has a projected life of 11 years. The mine will produce 140 tons of concentrate (about 30% copper) a day which will be trucked off the mountain and transported to a smelter.

In northern Arizona, near the Grand Canyon are over 1,300 known or suspected breccia pipes many of which contain uranium oxide as well as sulfides of copper, zinc, silver, and other metals. According to the Arizona Geological Survey, “Total breccia-pipe uranium production as of Dec. 31, 2010, has been more than 10,700 metric tons (23.5 million pounds) from nine underground mines, eight of which are north of Grand Canyon near Kanab Creek.”  This area is mired in fears of contamination of the Colorado River (see Uranium mining and its potential impact on Colorado River water) and a 20-year, million-acre mineral entry withdrawal by the Department of the Interior.

In northeastern Arizona there is potential for a major potash deposit. American West Potash has recently delineated, a considerable resource estimated at  158 million metric tons of sylvinite (a mixture of sodium and potassium chloride, not to be confused with sylvanite, a gold telluride), with about 16 million metric tonnes of K₂O; and inferred resources of 560 million metric tonnes of sylvinite with just over 66 million metric tons of K₂O in the Holbrook Basin, about 30 miles east of Holbrook, Arizona.

The Holbrook Basin area also holds potential for helium and shale oil resources.

Arizona currently has three producing gold mines and several other prospects being actively explored for gold (see here).

“In 2011, the state of Arizona led the United States in the production of gemstones. Arizona has long been famous as a producer of turquoise, peridot and petrified wood. Gemstones such as azurite, chrysocolla and malachite are associated with the Arizona’s many copper deposits and have a long history of being produced there. Agate, amethyst, garnet, jade, jasper, obsidian, onyx, and opal have all been found in Arizona and used to make gems.” – Geology.com

As you can see, besides currently producing mines, Arizona holds future potential that will add jobs and economic value to the local, state, and national economy – if they can get through the bureaucratic regulatory maze.

Remember, the value of mining is not just the money, it is in providing the products we need to keep our civilization going.  If it can’t be grown, it has to be mined.

The Sonoran Desert toad (Bufo alvarius), formerly known as the Colorado River toad, is one of the largest native toads of North America; they can get up to 7 inches long.  The toad is greenish-gray on top and creamy or white on the bottom.  They have large white “warts” at the jaw angle, large parotid glands and a few large lumps on the hind legs.  Toadlets are tan to green with orange or red spots.

This toad ranges from Central Arizona to southwestern New Mexico and Sinaloa, Mexico.  It used to occur in southeastern California but has not been reported there for about 40 years.  The Sonoran Desert toad inhabits creosote bush desert scrub, grasslands up into oak-pine woodlands, and thornscrub and tropical deciduous forest in Mexico.  This time of year you might see one in your yard.  These toads can climb fences if there is enough purchase.

According to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: “Sonoran Desert toads feed upon a variety of insects throughout their lives. Adults eat primarily beetles, although large individuals will occasionally eat small vertebrates including other toads. Sonoran Desert toads are active from late May to September, though principally during the summer rainy season. They are nocturnal during the hot summer months. The male’s call is weak, sounding somewhat like a ferryboat whistle. Eggs are laid in temporary rain pools and permanent ponds. Larvae metamorphose after 6 to 10 weeks. This species lives at least 10 years, and perhaps as many as 20 years.”

A defensive milky neurotoxin venom can be released from the parotid gland behind the eyes and similar organs on the legs.   The venom is potent enough to kill a large dog, should the dog grab a toad.  Symptoms of envenomation include foaming at the mouth, drunken gait, confusion, vomiting, diarrhea, or complete collapse.  There is no antitoxin.

The venom can have a psychedelic effect because it contains chemicals in the dimethylethanamine family and is closely related to DMT, a naturally occurring hallucinogenic drug akin to synthetically made LSD. Toad venom has long been used by native peoples of the Colorado River region in some religious ceremonies. Some people lick the toads to get high and there are many websites explaining how to extract the venom, dry it and smoke it.  This is very dangerous because an overdose can cause cardiac arrest in humans.

By the way, what is the difference between toads and frogs?  All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads.  According to allaboutfrogs.org, in general, frogs have two bulging eyes, strong, long, webbed hind feet that are adapted for leaping and swimming, smooth or slimy skin, tend to like moister environments, and lay eggs in clusters.  Toads have stubby bodies with short hind legs, warty and dry skin, parotid glands behind the eyes, and tend to lay eggs in long chains.

See also:

Creatures of the night- Spadefoots

Venomous Lizards

Venomous Centipedes and Cyanide-Oozing Millipedes

The most dangerous venomous animals of the Southwest

There is an interesting post by David Middleton over at WUWT.  Using data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Institute for Energy Research (IER), Middleton notes that 2,298 permanent jobs have been created since 2009 on green energy projects in the U.S., mostly solar, wind, and geothermal jobs (see table below). Those jobs were created by $26.32 billion in loan guarantees by DOE.  That comes to $11.45 million per job created.

Middleton says of this: “Clearly, in terms of ‘bang for the buck,’ government programs that coddle renewable energy are losers. In terms of jobs, the losers are the American workers who would otherwise be gainfully employed but for the tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars on the administration’s obsession with ‘green energy.’ As the economy continues to suffer and dollars for federal programs get harder to come by, it is getting increasingly difficult to defend a program that costs so much and produces so little.”

President Obama promised to create 5 million green energy jobs over 10 years.  He has only 4,997,702 jobs to go.

The alleged rationale for these green energy projects is to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide produced by generation of electricity, and indeed they have.   Middleton calculates that U.S. green energy projects have reduced global carbon dioxide emissions by 0.007% relative to coal or 0.00035% relative to natural gas.  Again, not much bang for the buck.  It’s your tax dollars at work.

See also:

Solar energy cannot economically compete in electricity generation

Wind turbines versus wildlife

Big Wind gets “get out of jail free card” from Obama Administration

Does alternative energy actually replace fossil fuel consumption?

The Cost of green energy

Health Hazards of Wind Turbines