Copper mining pumping big bucks into AZ economy 

The state’s massive copper industry had an estimated total impact of $6.8 billion to Arizona’s economy in 2007, including $385 million in revenues for state and local governments, according to a report by the Western Economic Analysis Center.
Another mining expert estimates copper’s economic impact to be considerably higher.
Last year, three major copper producers and a handful of smaller companies pulled about 814,000 tons of the metal — roughly 62 percent of all copper mined in the U.S. — from 12 operations in Arizona.
The direct impact of the production, including payments to workers, businesses and governments, totaled $3.3 billion, but economic multiplying effects brought by payroll, purchasing and tax dollars raised the industry’s value to the state to $6.8 billion, according to the report.
Eighty-percent of Arizona’s copper is mined from Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Pinal and Yavapai counties, but the economic splash is felt across the state and the nation, according to the report.
People, businesses and governments in Maricopa County pulled in an estimated $1.2 billion in direct effects from the industry. Phoenix businesses reaped $954 million. Local, state and federal government also benefited by receiving approximately $77 million from the industry, according to the report’s author, George Leaming.
The multiplied effect of copper’s direct and indirect contribution to the Arizona economy created a $40 billion impact nationally, according to the study.
Copper mining companies also disbursed $570 million in salaries and wages in 2007 to approximately 10,300 workers. Pensions and other retirement-benefit spending topped off at $107 million.
The study was commissioned by the Arizona Mining Association. Companies that contributed to the study were ASARCO LLC, BHP Copper Inc. and Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc.
Return of king copper≠
Arizona Mine Inspector Joe Hart said several factors will contribute to mining having an even greater impact on the state next year. New mine openings in Pima County, Superior and Safford should increase copper’s impact next year by about $3 billion, he estimated.
A proposed land swap being considered by Congress also would greatly expand copper production in Superior, Hart said.
The transaction, pushed by Resolution Copper Co., is opposed by conservationists and Native American interests. The sought-after land is in close proximity to a steep cliff known as Apache Leap, which is highly valued by the San Carlos Apache tribe.
The area, according to historians, was the site of a raid conducted against Apache Indians by the U.S. Army in 1870. A sneak attack by the Army took place on the mountain’s summit, a staging ground for Apache forays.
Dozens of outnumbered Apaches were killed quickly, and remaining members opted to leap from the cliff rather than suffer defeat.
 While copper might capture the attention, industry experts like Hart quickly add molybdenum to discussions about Arizona mining. The element, often referred to as “molly,” has gained substantial value in recent years as a common addition to steel and iron.
Hart said mining can help the state reverse depleting revenues.
“I think we can heal our budget woes,” he said. “I’ve maintained all along; copper can bring us out of this — copper and molybdenum.”
Two possible hazards to the continued economic growth of mining do exist, though, said Hart. Excessive environmental regulation and political pressures could stymie future growth, while current operations are coping with problems associated with methamphetamines
“There are lots of people that could take the job, but they just can’t pass the drug test,” said Hart.
While Hart believes the 2007 study, most often called the Leaming report, is a strong hint to further impact upswings, Madan Singh, director of the state’s Department of Mines and Mineral Resources, believes copper’s impact is already underreported.
Not all copper producers active in the state participated in the report, and money spent on exploration efforts is not included. Singh said he would guess the mining industry’s total 2007 impact lies somewhere between $13 billion to $14 billion. ≠