James R. Moffett, the executive chairman and co-founder of the mining company Freeport-McMoRan, is stepping down as plunging commodity prices lead to mass layoffs across the entire industry.

The Bagdad Freeport-McMoRan copper mine dominates both the landscape and the town's collective psyche. Its fate determines whether the town is doing well or poorly. This is the quintessential company town — one where the company owns all the houses and businesses — and it exists expressly to serve the mine.

With prices high and backing in place from some of the world's largest mining companies, the hunt for copper in the American Southwest is experiencing a revival.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. is investing $500 million in a Louisiana company set to ramp up oil production in the Gulf of Mexico in the next few years.