List of copper mines in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of copper mines in the United States.
Leading copper-producing mines
Leading copper-producing mines in the U.S., 2018–2021, in order of output:[1] The mines on this list account for more than 99% of U.S. mine copper production.
| Rank | Mine | County and State | Owner | Source of copper | Annual production (thousand tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morenci | Greenlee County, Arizona 33°05′26″N 109°22′00″W |
Freeport-McMoRan (72%), Sumitomo Group (28%) | Open pit, copper-molybdenum ore, producing copper cathode, copper and molybdenum concentrates | 286 (2021)[2] |
| 2 | Bingham Canyon | Salt Lake County, Utah 40°31′23″N 112°09′04″W |
Rio Tinto | Open pit copper-molybdenum ore, producing copper cathode, molybdenum concentrate, gold, silver, sulfuric acid | 202 (2021)[3] |
| 3 | Safford | Graham County, Arizona 32°56′50″N 109°39′03″W |
Freeport-McMoRan | Copper ore, leached | 120 (2021)[2] |
| 4 | Sierrita | Pima County, Arizona 31°52′26″N 111°08′02″W |
Freeport-McMoRan | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached | 86 (2021)[2] |
| 5 | Bagdad | Yavapai County, Arizona 34°35′05″N 113°12′43″W |
Freeport-McMoRan | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached | 83 (2021)[2] |
| 6 | El Chino | Grant County, New Mexico 32°47′30″N 108°04′02″W |
Freeport-McMoRan | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached | 56 (2021)[2] |
| 7 | Pinto Valley | Gila County, Arizona 33°25′55″N 110°57′27″W |
Capstone Mining Corp. | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated and leached | 54 (2020)[4] |
| 8 | Ray | Pinal County, Arizona 33°08′58″N 110°59′14″W |
Grupo México | Copper ore, concentrated and leached | 56 (2018)[5] |
| 9 | Robinson | White Pine County, Nevada 39°15′33″N 114°58′24″W |
KGHM Polska Miedź | Copper-gold-molybdenum ore, open pit, concentrate products | 56 (2021)[6] |
| 10 | Mission Complex | Pima County, Arizona | Grupo México | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated | 44 (2018)[5] |
| 11 | Continental Pit | Silver Bow County, Montana | Montana Resources LLP | Copper-molybdenum ore, concentrated | 33 (2015)[7] |
| 12 | Tyrone | Grant County, New Mexico | Freeport-McMoRan | Copper ore, leached | 55 (2021)[2] |
| 13 | Silver Bell | Pima County, Arizona | Grupo México | Copper ore, leached | 19 (2018)[5] |
| 14 | Eagle Mine | Marquette County, Michigan 46°44′47″N 87°52′50″W |
Lundin Mining | Underground mine producing nickel and copper concentrates | 18 (2018)[8] |
| 15 | Phoenix | Lander County, Nevada | Nevada Gold Mines | Gold-copper ore, concentrated and leached | 17 (2021)[6] |
| 16 | Lisbon Valley | San Juan County, Utah | Lisbon Valley Mining Company | Copper ore, open pit, heap leached | 10–15 (2018)[9] |
| 17 | Miami | Gila County, Arizona | Freeport-McMoRan | Copper ore, leached | 5 (2021)[2] |
| 18 | Carlota | Gila County, Arizona | KGHM Polska Miedź | Porphyry copper open pit, producing copper cathode | 3.2 (2018)[10] |
| 19 | Pumpkin Hollow (see Anaconda) |
Lyon County, Nevada | Nevada Copper | IOCG skarn, underground, producing copper concentrate | - (2019)[11] |
Copper-mining projects not yet in production
| Mine | County (Borough) and State | Operator | Type of Deposit | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pebble | Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska 59°53′50″N 155°17′43″W |
Northern Dynasty Minerals | Porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum | Pre-feasibility[12] |
| Rosemont | Pima County, Arizona 31°51′05″N 110°45′26″W |
Hudbay | Porphyry skarn | Permitting[13] |
| Resolution | Pinal County, Arizona 33°18′11″N 111°06′00″W |
Rio Tinto 55%, BHP 45% | Porphyry copper deposit beneath the inactive Magma Mine | Permitted[14] |
| Back Forty Mine | Menominee County, Michigan |
Gold Resource Corp. | Volcanogenic massive sulfide | |
| Northmet | St. Louis County, Minnesota | Polymet Mining | Copper-nickel-PGM deposit in disseminated and massive sulfides in layered mafic intrusion | All state and federal permits issued for an open pit mine[15] |
| Black Butte | Meagher County, Montana | Sandfire Resources America | SEDEX copper-cobalt-silver | Permitting[16] |
| Florence | Florence, Arizona | Taseko | In situ leach field | Under Construction |
Inactive or defunct copper mines
There are hundreds of inactive or defunct copper mines in the United States. The list below includes only those with Wikipedia articles.