Did you know.... Copper has been the backbone of Arizona's Economy sence it became a State! Arizona has 402 mines in operation from gravle quarries to large open pit's, Generating 6.7 Billion dollars in minerals for 2006. Five new copper mines are in various stages of development in southern Arizona, The biggest Employers are Phelps Dodge Minning Co. Tucson based Asarco Minning.

If the U.S. comes to depend on foregin supply for Copper, It must be ready to compete with foregin demands for it. Everything we do has copper in it Cars computers anything electrical think of that! We need Copper. With Copper prices around $3 bucks a pound Intrest is high in finding more of it, 900,000 acres of federal land and state land is under Exploration. Still some Enviromentalists want to see thoes eager to find Said treasure Stoped
We can't let that happen! Despite Arizona's rich history, the indrusty is clouded by the sins of it's forfathers. the state and EPA are still sorting out the cleanup of minning towns, allegations of pollution caused illness, dumping in the water streams and toxic smelter emissions (which I lived next to the first 15 years of my life) We are naturally concerned about the unknown impact of that! that is why the public is so hesitent to new mines. "the Easy choice is to say NO" AS Arizona's urban devlopment booms the minerial resours unique to this region will be lost for good. So long as we use raw materials, We will have to get them from somewhere. The decisions we are making are farily Permanet about the resources we have. So think about that.

Well now before you all go packing your bags, loading your trucks and moving out here, BEWARE!!!!! It is the Desert, No water for miles and miles.

 

I grew up in Nevada, Bill. I have mixed feelings about mining. I agree we need to get these materials. But we have to be responsible about it. One of my big problems with mining today is, at least in Nevada most all the mining companies are Foreign Companies. They get big tax breaks to mine our AMERICAN soil & raw materials. Yes they do employ many people with good wages & benefits. Then because of the good pay & a big shortage of worker they hire these people that can't get jobs anywhere else pay them good money the next thing these people start thinking their better than the rest of us. I hate that attitude. We lived 2 years in Elko NV. The largest gold mines in the world there. I'll tell you the people that they were hiring was unreal. These mines aren't like in the old days where they built towns, schools, etc. These mines really tax the infrastructure of a community. These mines make token contributions to the area they mine today. I mean these companies are making billions of dollars, but only contributing thousands is my comparisons. Bill I don't know your age I'm a senior, old. In the old days these mines came in built housing for there employees, built schools or made big contributions to build schools, police, fire,things they impacted. Not today. If you & I wanted to go to Canada or wherever and start a mine we would have to do far more than these companies do coming here from other countries.
Enough from me. Again I have mixed feelings & I have watched it be GOOD but also see a lot that is not GOOD FOR ARIZONA or NEVADA.

 

We ought to force china into bankruptcy - and then buy their stuff to strip the wire from it and melt it down!

But that's just my own silly thinking...

It would be nice if we could come up with a way to mine copper without making huge holes in the earth and so on - but it isn't here yet.

Bother.....

What can one do with a big hole in the ground, that no one has any further use for? Flood it with water, and perhaps call it a reservior?

 

most of central AZ has been researched, I took care of a helicopter that was doing geosise (sp) work for about 3 months. i was guessing they were looking for copper but they wouldn't say for sure.

 

If you could be sure of no trace chems that might be harmful - resrvois might be a heck of a use for an abandoned mine site. Resorts could surround it, and lots of economic activeties result. But would it be safe?

Fishing, camping, lakefront resorts, all with sunny weather, and moderate temperatures in the middle of winter elsewhere.

Assuming of course that any water diverted in didn't just SLURP right down into the ground.

There is an old legend of an underground river that empties into the Baja Gulf, far beneath the sands. Clive Cussler briefly talked to that idea in his book "Inca Gold"

It makes me wonder what an orbital scan by satellite or shuttle would show us? A similar scan showed evidence of irrigation and river channels beneath the Sahara that originated in the Nile region and emptied into the atlantic ocean. It points to what is now desert in Africa having once been highly fertile areas.

 

the lake thing would be cool but "where the sun always shines ther's a desert below" no water to fill them.

second I wish I would have taken some pics of the helicopter but it had a 90' circle hung 100' below the helicopter, the circle was like a large metal detector, than above it was a "box" that shot a magnetic pulse into the ground the circle would read the signal return. the could identify any presious metal, uranium, coal, oil, water and who knows what else. the local paper had an article about it with a pic, I will check their web site for a link.

 

here is a link It's my first try at posting a link but if it worls the helicopter is in the upper left hand corner

http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?Sea...tionID=73&S=41

 

yup checked the link it works

 

Thats very Cool! I like Jim's comments at the end LOL listening devices thats funny

Reminds me of all the storys about the big Ballon thing in sierra vista from long ago.