By state Copper mining in the United States

1 state

1.1 alabama
1.2 alaska
1.3 arizona
1.4 california
1.5 connecticut
1.6 maine
1.7 maryland
1.8 michigan
1.9 minnesota
1.10 missouri
1.11 montana
1.12 nevada
1.13 new jersey
1.14 new mexico
1.15 new york
1.16 north carolina
1.17 oklahoma
1.18 oregon
1.19 pennsylvania
1.20 tennessee
1.21 texas
1.22 utah
1.23 vermont
1.24 virginia
1.25 washington
1.26 wisconsin
1.27 wyoming

by state
alabama

the stone hill mine (also known woods mine) discovered in 1874, , worked 1874 1879, , 1896 1899. production hampered poor transportation. ore massive , disseminated sulfides in hornblende schist of precambrian or paleozoic age. principal ore minerals chalcopyrite , sphalerite, occur pyrrhotite, pyrite, , quartz. 2 other copper prospects, johnston prospect , smith prospect, nearby, not known copper produced them.

alaska

the kennecott concentration mill, mines in mountains east

alaska not significant copper producer.

russian explorers discovered copper on kasaan peninsula of prince of wales island in southeastern alaska 1865. mining began in period 1895-1900, , continued until shortly after world war i. copper present chalcopyrite, occurring magnetite, pyrite, garnet, epidote, diopside, , hornblende, in replacement deposits in greenstone. gold , silver recovered byproducts.

copper discovered @ prince william sound in 1897. deposits associated pillow basalts alterered greenstone. basalts interbedded slate , greywacke, faulted, , intruded granitic rocks. principal mines beatson-bonanza mine @ latouche , ellamar mine, accounted 96% of copper produced. other mines midas mine near valdez, threeman mine, , fidalgo-alaska mine @ port fidalgo, alaska. mining began in 1900, , continued until 1930. total production 96,000 tonnes of copper.

historically, largest copper mining district in alaska nizina district, principal mines of (erie mine, jumbo mine, bonanza mine, mother lode mine, , green butte mine) @ kennecott, alaska, 4 miles north of mccarthy. copper present chalcocite in veins , irregular replacements in triassic chitistone limestone. silver produced byproduct. mine @ kennecott gave rise kennecott copper corporation, outlasted mine, , still major mining company. deposit discovered in 1900, , once railroad connection built, mine operated 1911 1938, after kennecott became ghost town. town national historic landmark.

the pebble mine proposed copper-gold-molybdenum mine. deposit large porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum deposit, , if developed major producer of metals.

arizona

the morenci mine produces copper of mine in north america.



spectacular azurite-malachite specimen bisbee

arizona has been major copper producer since 19th century. in 2006 arizona leading copper-producing state in us, producing record $5 billion worth of copper.

over 60% of newly mined copper in u.s. comes arizona. when copper traded average of $3.30/pound, copper production generated $5 billion arizona s economy in 2006 , $5.5 billion in 2007.

the first mineral mined in arizona was, in many other regions, gold. silver prominent, in cities of tubac , superior. however, arizona prominently known copper, become known 1 of arizona s 5 c s or resources.[1]

the first copper strike anglo henry clifton, in area known clifton, in 1864. no claim staked there because of threat of indian attack. in 1870, robert metcalf staked claim there, sold controlling interest henry , charles lesinsky. later formed longfellow copper mining co. in las cruces, new mexico. set camp , called clifton. clifton later became 1 of largest copper mining communities of arizona.

this new use of copper resulted in boom of 1 of arizona s greatest resources. 1910 arizona produced more copper other state in nation. fuel many of political struggles well. bisbee , jerome deportations in 1917 represent how factory workers , factory owners pitted against each other.[2].

at mule canyon, south of tombstone, arizona, in 1877, soldier chasing apache indians found copper @ bisbee. copper queen mine , neighboring atlanta claim became warren district. great contribution of warren district, arizona led nation , still leads in copper production.

the united verde copper mine @ jerome, arizona, financed eastern capitalists. however, rich surface ore played out. w. a. clark, had obtained fortune @ butte, purchased 99% of stock of united verde mine. yielded copper, silver, , gold totaling $410,000,000. w. a. clark owner of richest, individually owned copper mine in world.[3] after mines closed jerome reborn artist community.

12 active copper mines in arizona directly employ 10,000 workers, not including contractors , sub-contractors. half of arizona s copper mined in morenci. additional 9 copper mines expected begin production in coming years. resolution copper project, near superior, expected provide 25% of u.s. demand copper after begins production. [4]

california

copper first discovered in california in 1840, in los angeles county. mine, @ soledad, produced small amount of copper in 1854.

the napoleon mine @ copperopolis in calaveras county opened in 1860, , productive ignited boom in other copper-mining properties 1862 1866. boom stimulated development of copper mines along foothill copper belt, 250-mile long zone of copper deposits in sierra nevada foothills, running butte county in northwest fresno county in southeast. production ceased after 1868 when shallow oxidized ore exhausted, , deeper sulfide ores found poorer in gold , silver. foothills belt yielded 91 thousand tonnes of copper , 23 thousand tonnes of zinc.

most california copper production came west shasta district in northern california. gold prospectors discovered copper deposits of shasta county in 1848, no metal produced until 1879, when silver produced iron mountain mine. copper in massive sulfide deposits in devonian balaklala rhyolite. principal mines iron mountain mine, mammoth mine, , balaklala mine. copper production began in 1894, , continued off-and-on until 1976. total production 320 thousand tonnes of copper, 93 million pounds of zinc, 36 million troy ounces of silver, , 520,000 ounces of gold. district produced pyrite sulfuric acid.

the island mountain mine in trinity county operated 1915 1930, , produced 4100 tonnes of copper, 140,000 ounces of silver, , 8,600 ounces of gold. orebody massive sulfide deposit of pyrite, chalcopyrite, , pyrrhotite along shear zone in franciscan formation.

at northern end of sierra nevada, in plumas county, walker, engels, , superior mines produced more 140 thousand tons of copper. engels mine produced 117 million pounds of copper ore , largest copper mine in california.

the pine creek mine near bishop in inyo county produces copper byproduct of tungsten mining.

connecticut

connecticut home first successful copper mining europeans in united states. copper deposit discovered in present town of east granby, connecticut in 1705, , german metallurgists hanover imported reduce ore copper metal. mine shut down in 1725, , property served prison 1773 1897.

maine

copper mines operated in hancock county near blue hill , sullivan, 1877 1884.

the harborside mine, near brooksville mined copper , zinc open pit 1968 1972.

the underground black hawk mine near blue hill produced copper, zinc, , lead 1972 1977.

maryland

copper mines operated in maryland colonial times until 1850s, in 3 mining districts. productive in frederick county, in belt of chalcopyrite ore in schist , limestone stretching new london libertytown. productive mine dolly hyde mine. district contains chalcopyrite, chalcocite, , bornite, in fault zone runs 25 miles in slate sykesville finksburg in carroll county. bare hills district in northwest baltimore county contained copper-bearing vein in hornblende gneiss.

michigan

native americans mined copper small pits on keweenaw peninsula of northern michigan 3000 bc. in american era, first successful copper mine, cliff mine, began operations in 1845, , many others followed. last major copper mine in michigan, white pine mine, shut down in 1995, after unsuccessfully applying permit convert underground mine in-situ leaching operation.

minnesota

polymet mining corp. has proposed large open-pit copper-nickel mine of northmet orebody in st. louis county, minnesota. company has applied minnesota department of natural resources , corps of engineers required permits. present plans call mine produce 72 million pounds (33 thousand tonnes) of copper annually, along nickel, cobalt, platinum, palladium, , gold.

franconia minerals corp. exploring 3 copper-nickel platinum deposits in st. louis , lake counties. northmet deposit, deposits in duluth complex.

missouri

missouri has produced small amounts of copper franklin, madison, , other counties since 1837. copper mine started in 1863 near cornwall in madison county.

copper recovered byproduct of lead mining in lead belt of southeastern missouri.

montana

the berkeley pit, butte, in may 1984.

in 2006, montana fourth-largest copper-producing state in country.

butte, montana once nation’s prolific copper-mining district. miners first came butte in 1864 mine placer gold. hard rock silver mining began in 1874, rich copper veins discovered in 1882. district switched silver copper, , 1887, butte leading copper-producing district in united states. anaconda copper mine world s productive copper mine 1892 through 1903, , intermittently years thereafter. open-pit mining began @ berkeley pit in 1955; berkeley pit has been inactive years, , continues fill acidic water. through 1964, butte produced 7.3 million tonnes of copper, 2.2 million tonnes of zinc, 1.7 million tonnes of manganese, 380 thousand tonnes of lead, 645 million troy ounces of silver, , 2.5 million ounces of gold. remaining active copper mine @ butte continental pit, operated montana resources llp.

some copper produced troy unit silver mine in northwest corner of state, , 2 platinum mines in stillwater igneous complex: stillwater mine , east boulder project.

nevada

drilling blast holes @ robinson copper mine, ely.

the first commercial copper mining district in nevada @ yerington in lyon county. ludwig mine opened in 1865, district produced modest amounts of copper until railroad built district in 1911, , smelter built in 1912 @ nearby thompson. anaconda copper mine produced open pit 1918 1978. copper ore bodies contact metamorphic replacement deposits in limestone. production through 1921 39 thousand tonnes of copper.

the largest copper producer in nevada has been ely district (also called robinson district) in white pine county. native american showed mineralization prospectors in 1867, , district started in small way lode gold producer. railroad link in 1906 made economically possible start large scale open pit mining of large porphyry copper deposits, , first copper produced in 1908. mining halted in recent years due low copper prices, open pit reopened in 2004 quadra mining ltd. in 2007, mine produced 121 million pounds (55 thousand tonnes) of copper, plus byproduct molybdenum.

newmont s phoenix mine in lander county produced 6.2 million pounds (2800 tonnes) of copper in 2007, byproduct of gold mining.

new jersey

new jersey site of 1 of first attempts mine copper in united states. copper ore discovered 1712 in north arlington, , schuyler copper mine extracted ore , shipped in casks netherlands. success of schuyler mine led more prospecting , discovery of more deposits.

in 1750s, colonists tried mine copper @ pahaquarry copper mine in warren county. copper occurs chalcocite, bornite, covellite, cuprite, , malachite, in quartzite of silurian high falls formation.

new mexico

the el chino open-pit copper mine near silver city, new mexico

the santa rita mine in southwest new mexico first copper mine in western united states. spaniards began mining copper there 1800. district still produces copper, large chino mine open pit.

native americans had mined turquoise associated copper deposits @ present-day tyrone in grant county, new mexico. modern mining followed discovery of turquoise , copper american prospectors in 1870. first copper shipped tyrone district in 1879.

some copper has been produced 3 deposits in sandstone of triassic chinle formation in nacimiento mountains near cuba, new mexico. copper present sulfides (most commonly chalcocite) , malachite associated organic material; native silver present.

new mexico nation’s number-three copper-producing state. copper produced 2 large open-pit porphyry copper operations in grant county: chino mine , tyrone mine. both mines owned , operated freeport-mcmoran. in 2007, 2 mines produced 249 million pounds (113 thousand tonnes) of copper, 13 thousand ounces of gold , 209 thousand ounces of silver.

new york

a copper mine operated @ canton, st. lawrence county in 19th century.

north carolina

copper discovered @ ore knob deposit in northwest part of state in 1850s, , mining began in 1855. ore massive sulfide , disseminated ore in mica schist , gneiss, , amphibole schist , gneiss. principal ore mineral chalcopyrite, occurs pyrrhotite , pyrite, mine operated until 1883, worked sporadically until large-scale mining began in 1957. mine closed in 1962. total production 31,000 tonnes of copper, 9,400 ounces of gold, , 145,000 ounces of silver.

oklahoma

copper mined @ creta 1965 1975. ore 2% 4.5% copper chalcocite replacement grains in 8-inch (20 cm) thick bed of grey shale in permian flowerpot shale. ore carried silver, stromeyerite.

copper , silver occur in sandstone roll-front-type deposit in wellington sandstone of permian age @ paoli, garvin county, oklahoma. 1900, several wagon loads of ore shipped deposit.

oregon

the leading copper-mining district in oregon homestead district in baker county, produced 6400 tonnes of copper, 35,000 ounces of gold, , 256,000 ounces of silver. important mine iron dyke.

the waldo-takilma district in josephine county produced 3200 tonnes of copper. large mines included waldo mine , queen of bronze mine.

the keating district in baker county produced 450 tonnes of copper.

pennsylvania

in 1724 pennsylvania colonial governor william keith made first attempt mine copper in pennsylvania. mine, in york county, failed within short time.

by 1732 gap mine in lancaster county operating, owned shareholders including gouverneur morris , thomas penn. mine shut down due water problems 1755. mine reopened nickel mine 1850, , produced byproduct copper along nickel until shut down in 1893.

tennessee

mining machine parts , tools scattered burra burra mine site, ducktown, tennessee

ducktown, tennessee center of major copper-mining district 1847 1970s. district produced iron, sulfur , zinc byproducts. copper discovered in 1843 prospector, presumably panning gold, found nuggets of native copper. first shipment of copper ore taken out on muleback in made in 1847. more 30 mining companies incorporated between 1852 , 1855 mine copper @ ducktown. development speeded road built in 1853 connecting area cleveland, tennessee. first smelter built in ducktown district in 1854. mining ceased when union troops destroyed copper refinery , mill @ cleveland, tennessee in 1863. mining resumed in 1866, , continued until 1878, when mines had exhausted shallow high-grade copper ores.

in 1889, ducktown sulphur, copper, gold , iron company bought properties, , began producing copper , iron deeper high-sulfide ores, previous companies unable work successfully. ores treated open roasting in ore piled in large stacks alternating layers of wood, , burned. method released large quantities of sulfur dioxide, killed of vegetation in immediate area. open roasting replaced pyritic smelting in 1904, , smelters began recovering of sulfur in form of sulfuric acid rather releasing atmosphere. froth flotation added in 1920s.

the burra burra mine in ducktown home museum dedicated interpretation of region s copper mining history.

texas

texas has never been major copper-mining state. small amounts of copper mined permian redbeds in archer , foard counties of north-central texas in 1860s , 1870s. copper produced in connection silver mining in culberson county in west texas 1885 1952.

utah

bingham canyon mine in 1942

in 2006, utah nation s number 2 producer of copper.

the bingham canyon mine southwest of salt lake city has been 1 of world’s largest copper producers more 100 years. mine, owned , operated kennecott utah copper (a division of rio tinto group), large open pit in porphyry copper deposit. (the bingham canyon mine , chuquicamata copper mine in chile each claim largest open-pit mine in world.) continues major source not of copper, of molybdenum, gold, , silver. value of metals produced in year 2006 alone $1.8 billion.

bingham canyon mine, southwest of salt lake city, utah, in 2005

constellation copper s lisbon valley copper mine in san juan county, southwest utah began mining in 2005, , produced first copper in 2006. copper deposit in sandstones of dakota sandstone , burro canyon formation. primary copper mineral chalcocite, thought have been deposited solutions ascending through lisbon valley fault. above water table, chalcocite has been oxidized malachite, azurite, tenorite, , cuprite. on november 30, 2007, constellation announced stop mining in 2008, because of unexpectedly low copper recovery. company continue recover copper heap-leaching already-mined ore long profitable.

constellation officially declared bankruptcy , insolvent, copper mining efforts resumed in august 2009 under new management of financing renewal capital, subsidiary of partnerre, , has been producing approximately 35,000 pounds of copper day since restart. mining occurs solely in 1 mid-sized open pit named centennial pit, , primary ores malachite, azurite, , chalcocite. mine employs approximately 140 people of february 2012.

cs mining purchased assets of bankrupt western utah copper company/copper king mining corporation in 2011 , has applied required permits restart mining @ various sites held wucc. after receipt of permits, mining , milling activities expected start in second half of 2012 open-pit mining , flotation mill processing near milford. @ time assets acquired cs, measured, indicated , inferred resources approximately 600 million pounds of copper; plus gold, silver, , magnetite.

utah history go: copper mining, king of oquirrh mountains

vermont

a number of copper mines operated in orange county 1809 1958. @ least 5 copper mines operated along belt 20 miles long , oriented nne-ssw. until opening of michigan copper district in 1844, vermont leading copper-producing state. ore chalcopyrite pyrite , pyrrhotite in sericite schist host rock.

the elizabeth deposit discovered in 1793 , started mining in 1809 first copper mine in state; last copper mine operate in state when closed in 1958. elizabeth mine federal superfund site due acid mine drainage.

virginia

the virginia mining district in halifax , charlotte counties in southern virginia produced 750,000 pounds of copper numerous mines. copper-bearing quartz veins occur in greenstone schist along narrow belt stretching 4 miles nne-ssw keysville on north virgilina on north carolina border. barnes mine reported have produced copper in 18th century, major productive era district late 19th century 1917.

the toncrae deposit near floyd mined iron (from gossan) 1790-1850. copper mined 1854–1855, 1905–1908, , 1938-1947. deposit massive sulfide, composed of pyrrhotite , magnetite. main copper ore minerals chalcocite , covellite.

virginia division of geology , mineral resources: copper

washington

miner operating pneumatic drill candlelight in united copper mine, stevens county, washington, in 1909.

the tubal cain mine on olympic peninsula operated 1902 1906.

the holden mine, in chelan county, operated 1938 1957. townsite used lutheran retreat center , open public. process of cleaning remains of old mine ongoing.

the chewelah district in stevens county produced 1.7 million troy ounces (53 tonnes) of silver , 5,000 metric tons of copper quartz-carbonate veins. chalcopyrite principal ore mineral. deposits hosted in shear zones in argillite of precambrian belt supergroup.

wisconsin

copper discovered 1 mile northeast of mineral point in iowa county of southwest wisconsin in 1837 or 1838. deposit mined until 1842, intermittently through 1875, producing estimated 680 tonnes of copper.

copper discovered in 1843 @ became known copper creek mine near mount sterling in crawford county, southwest wisconsin. 5500 pounds (2.5 tonnes) of copper produced deposit between 1843 , 1852. plum creek copper mine, in crawford county, discovered near wauzeka in 1850s, , mined in 1860 , 1861. both copper creek , plum creek deposits in limestone.

douglas county, in northwest corner of state, heavily prospected in 19th century native copper deposits in keweenawan-series rocks, similar deposits found in keweenawan rocks in michigan. number of mines started, none proved profitable.

the copper deposit of flambeau mine discovered in 1969 1.5 miles south of ladysmith in rusk county, , produced open pit 1993 1997. total production 160 thousand tonnes of copper, 3.3 million ounces (100 tonnes) of silver, , 330 thousand ounces (10 tonnes) of gold. kennecott reclaimed , revegetated site specifications of state-approved reclamation plan, finishing in 1999. wisconsin department of natural resources continues long-term vegetation , groundwater monitoring of site assure reclamation done successfully.

wyoming

the encampment district in carbon county produced 24 million pounds of copper in brief spurt of activity 1899 1908.

copper mines opened near hartville in goshen county in 1882. mines produced until 1899, , again during world war i.

although no copper mines have operated in wyoming in recent years, there several properties large-tonnage copper-silver porphyries (tertiary) in absaroka mountains east of yellowstone, stratabound copper-silver-zinc massive sulfides (triassic-jurassic) in lake alice district in overthrust belt of western wyoming, several volcanogenic massive sulfide (copper, lead, zinc, silver) deposits in encampment district, potentially major stratabound copper-gold paleoplacer (proterozoic) @ ferris-haggarty property in sierra madre, proterozoic copper-gold porphyry @ copper king property in laramie range, , other properties of interest (hausel, 1997).