Arizona. Imagine modern man's first reaction to this seemingly impenetrable land. Extreme heat. Endless deserts. Majestic mountains and inhospitable canyons that would take weeks to cross. Yet beneath these barriers lay a mineral that would help transform not only the Arizona territory, but also the entire world.
That mineral is copper, and this is the Arizona copper story.
From the discovery of rich mineral deposits by prospectors with picks and burros in the early 1800s to the sophisticated, high technology industry that today makes Arizona an international business leader, copper has spurred Arizona's development and prosperity. To say that the copper industry has grown with Arizona is to understate the obvious. Arizona has grown because of copper. In the words of one Arizona copper mining executive, "What would build Arizona lay beneath the ground itself."
Throughout the world, copper miners tell a story of modern life is made possible by copper. They realize that every material we enjoy on earth has its start within the earth. They know that if it can't be grown, it must be mined. Of all the materials that man has learned to mine, copper is the most versatile and durable.
For good reason, it's been called "man's eternal metal."
Without copper, there may never have been an electric light or space flight. Copper and its alloys are used in electrical distribution and generation, electronic components, computers, refrigerators, plumbing, even simple door knobs, keys and coins. In 1969, coinage alone required some 50,000 tons of copper a year — equal to what was then the total annual output of one good-sized Arizona mine. But that use is trivial when compared to the versatility of today's copper. This miraculous mineral is at the heart of all technology, from telecommunications to transportation.
In Arizona, copper's impact is even more profound. For it is not just the materials made from copper that we enjoy, but also the economic and social benefits of the copper mining industry. Since 1910, Arizona has been the nation's top copper producer — producing more copper than all the other 49 states combined. Two to three generations later, in 1996, about one out of every eight jobs in our state still depended on the copper mines.
The copper industry was responsible for bringing railroads to Arizona, and opening our market to the world. It helped the territory achieve statehood in 1912, and continues to help it earn international acclaim. In a world economy, Arizona and its copper industry play a vital and growing role. That's why the Arizona Mining Association produced this publication. Because to truly know Arizona, we believe you must first know copper.
Copper and its alloys, such as those seen on the copper interconnects on this microprocessor, help to make our modern way of life possible.
parttwo Take one look at Arizona's state capital building in the heart of downtown Phoenix and the importance of copper becomes clear. The dome of the capitol is crafted with Arizona copper — a poignant reminder of the importance of copper to our culture and economy.
Later in this publication, we'll tell you more about how Arizona has grown with the copper industry. First, however, let's look at copper in our nation and the world.
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The Statue of Liberty, sculpted in France, is plated with over 179,000 pounds of copper.
In America, a nation of determined and hard-working immigrants, copper is a symbol of freedom and opportunity. One of the first sites that the seventeen million people who passed through Ellis Island saw upon arriving in America was the Statue of Liberty — draped in copper from head to toe and carrying a copper torch.
Former Chrysler executive Lee Iacocca once wrote this about what he calls "The Great Lady: Hard work, the dignity of labor, the fight for what's right — these are the things that the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island stand for." It is appropriate, therefore, that The Great Lady herself is made from a substance mined by an industry with similar values. Containing some 179,000 pounds of copper, the Statue of Liberty is a monument not just to the new world, but also to a thriving industry.
We are at the brink of a new millennium marked by global commerce and high speed communications. What makes this information age possible is the same mineral that drove the industrial age — copper. In fact, as man's oldest metal, copper was used even in ancient civilizations for weapons, tools, coins and more. The earliest use may have been in 8000 B.C., when a hunter wandering in the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys stumbled upon copper and learned to shape it into an arrowhead. From there, the uses for copper would grow, while materials made from copper would live to tell its story.
Egyptian pharaohs, Greek philosophers, Roman rulers, Renaissance artists, and early German printers all used copper. Much of that copper still exists to help tell the story of their lives. For example, 50 centuries after an Egyptian Pharaoh had copper pipes installed in his bath, those same pipes were discovered, dug up, and still good for carrying water. Today, everything that relies on electricity, a prime tool of the modern age, requires copper.
Look around you. Copper is everywhere — in what you see and often in what you don't see. It's behind the walls of your home, in electrical and telephone wiring. It's in refrigerators, computers, microwaves and automobiles. It even brings to life the advanced technology of fiber optics, and lifts off with every American space shuttle.
The average home today contains about 400 pounds of copper, while the automobile you drive contains about 50 pounds. The cleaner burning electric automobiles that will substantially reduce urban air quality problems in the near future will require even more copper than the combustion engine automobiles of today.
Of course, even those who ride bicycles instead of driving automobiles are using a product that contains copper. Each child born today will probably use 1500 pounds of copper in the course of his or her lifetime. Many copper-based products already exist, others are under development, and many more are yet to be created. The only limits to copper's possibilities are the dreams and determination of skilled architects, engineers, inventors and metallurgists working with the Arizona copper mining industry.
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Copper: The Foundation of America's 48th State 
Copyright © 2006 Arizona Mining Association. All rights reserved.