Posted on 05/18/2004 1:36:07 PM PDT by JimSEA
PHOENIX — Any way you look at it, Superior is a town down on its luck.
Since the mines closed in the 1980s, most of the community's businesses have folded and more than half of its residents have moved away. But in the struggling community that has seen its share of booms and busts, another boom could be on the horizon.
At the old Magma Mine's Shaft No. 9, east of town, geologists are swooning over ore samples taken from more than 7,000 feet below the surface. They show a huge deposit of high-grade copper ore that geologists believe could be the largest in North America.
A plan for an underground mining operation would bring 1,000 high-paying jobs to Superior during a five-year construction phase and 500 during the expected 25-year life of the project.
"That would put us back on the map," said Mayor Michael O. Hing, a third-generation resident of Superior, which is southeast of Phoenix.
The Superior project is not the only new Arizona copper mine on the horizon. The highest copper price in years is sparking a renewed interest in the once ailing industry. Phoenix-based Phelps Dodge Corp., the world's second-largest copper producer behind Chile's Codelco, is working to open a new open-pit copper mine near Safford, Arizona' first new copper mine in 50 years. Asarco, the No. 3 copper producer, is said to be prospecting around Superior, as is Canada's Teck Cominco Ltd.
The projects face hurdles. The Phelps Dodge mine isn't scheduled to open for three to five years and may never be developed if copper prices don't stay up.
The ore depth at the Superior mine poses particular challenges, and construction probably won't start for five more years. The mine isn't scheduled to open until 2014.
Still, it's enough to bring hope to the 3,200-resident community 60 miles east of Phoenix.
Superior's once-bustling Main Street is now a strip of largely boarded up, decrepit buildings. But residents are talking about the prospects of the new mine.
"There used to be 17 bars and 13 beauty shops here," observed David Barreras, a third-generation miner. "I'd like to see the businesses come back."
At Los Hermanos Restaurant & Lounge, Margie Lopez remembers the days when the mine teemed with workers.
"Things were good," she said. Lopez stayed at home with her children and her husband worked in the mine.
All that changed in 1982 when the Magma Mine closed, putting 1,200 people out of work. The roles reversed, Lopez went to work as a waitress and her husband stayed home.
In 1989, the mine hired about 200 people but cut those jobs in 1996 when the mine closed again.
The job loss has been tough on the town, Hing said.
"Families have been torn apart and traditions lost because people had to leave here to find jobs," he said.
Hing blames lack of employment, broken families and a loss of self-esteem for drug and crime problems in Superior.
Hing and others are optimistic that the rich strike at Shaft No. 9 will change all that.
"I'm trying to raise a fourth generation here," Hing said.
Hing operates the grocery store opened by his grandfather in the 1920s.
"We survived," he said. "But a lot of other people didn't."
Resolution Copper Co., a partnership formed to develop the new mine, already is working with Superior High School to establish science programs to train students for jobs at a mine.
"We want to hire as many local people as we can," said Bruno Hegner, Resolution's vice president and general manager. The company also is offering college scholarships to high school students in Superior, Globe, Miami and San Carlos.
Resolution Copper is a venture between two of the world's largest mining companies — Britain's Rio Tinto Group and Australia's BHP Billington.
BHP acquired the 6,000-acre site and 28-mile railroad spur in 1996 through its $2.4 billion acquisition of Magma Copper Co.
Rio Tinto just completed earning a 55 percent stake in the project by investing $24 million to evaluate the ore body and develop a mining plan.
The next step is to pump out water in the mine and extend the shaft approximately 3,000 feet below its present 4,200-foot floor.
Since the pumps were turned off in 1998, the mine has filled with water up to the 2,200 foot level.
The company plans to use a block cave technique to extract the ore. That involves tunneling below the deposit and blasting the ore loose from above.
"It's like an upside-down open pit," Hegner said.
Resolution plans to build a mill but will ship the concentrated ore, via its railroad, to smelters out of state.
More than 300 people recently turned out for an open house hosted by Resolution Copper to apprise residents of the mine's progress.
"They're excited," Hing said of the Superior residents. The community has attracted retirees in recent years, and a calcium processing plant opened in 2000 at a new industrial park. The town also has marketed itself as a location for movies and commercials. "Eight Legged Freaks" was filmed there in 2002 and "U-Turn" in 1997.
But in its heart, Superior is a mining town eager to return to its glory days.
"People know what made this town," Hing said. "We're basically still a mining town."
Great news for a town that could need some). Oh, the stories I could tell about that old hole in the ground.
One of the first things they will have to worry about after dewatering the mine will be the extreme rock temperature. It is named Magma for a good reason. The lower levels had temperatures up to 145C. I think it was the first mine to use refrigeration in the headings. It was one of the roughest underground mines to work in in the USA for many reasons.
I was born in Superior, too, but my folks moved away a couple of months later. Both of my grandfathers worked at the mine from way back when.
I used to go every summer to visit my grandparents in town. I can still smell the smelter in my memory.
Haven't been through there, though for 13 years now.
I hope they actually do get the mine reopened. I'm not optomistic, though.
Thanks, I enjoyed your posts.
bttt
you said "The lower levels had temperatures up to 145C."
That's 293'f. did you mean 145'f?
Sorry, 145Fis correct my mistake, thanks for catching it.
I can remember the "copper penny" taste as well. I worked in both the mill and smelter as at 18 when I started, there was a 21 age rule in UG mines. Even after working UG, I always thought that old smelter was way worse.
BTTT
I went to work in San Manuel in the early seventies and at that time, I believe that 3300 was the deepest level except for sme pump stations lower. The last General Manager for Magma, Frank Flores and one of his young engineers always believed there was lower level high grade (as did my Dad who retired in 72). The ore grade was always 4% heads or better when I was there. In the 10's through the 50's some of the ore was hand dressed as straight bornite would not smelt properly.
Then the magma name would have REALLY made sense. lol
"7000 feet is quite a reach. Some of my relatives first came to work copper mines in Upper Michigan. The mines were wet and cold.
Wet and hot would be something else...
"
Very wet and very hot. Big expenses to pump and air condition, especially today, with all the safety issues.
ping
My grandparents worked the Superior mine from back in the teens through the 40s. I still collect Magma Mine stuff. I've got a whole series of stock certificates, some paystubs and an employee manual from the 40s, along with ore samples, etc. Bunch of postcards, too, from Superior, some dating back to the 20s. Check Ebay, searching for "Magma Mine" and "Superior AZ" The stuff turns up from time to time.
One grandfather worked as an electrician in the mine; the other worked in the smelter most of the time.
My birth certificate says my place of birth was the Magma Hospital. Company town, for sure.
My parents, who are now 79 years old went to their 50th and 60th high school reunions.
I have fond memories of those summers, hot as they were, with trips to the Arboretum and to collect apache tears. My maternal grandmother wrote a bunch of stories for the Phoenix paper long ago about some of the old miners and prospectors who were still around.
Sure a lot of Arizonans on this list!
Was that the Kewatin (sp?) Province? I have some excellent native copper samples from there.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there some South African gold mines that are close to 10,000' deep?
I just visited Superior, and the Boyce-Thompson Arboretum the other day. I recomend the Arboretum to visitors who want to see desert flora and a fine botanical garden. I've been through there many times, on my way to Miami, AZ... and Globe. It seems like a nice little town, not too far from Phoenix. Hope the mine prospects pan out, so to speak.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there some South African gold mines that are close to 10,000' deep?"
Yes, I think so, but I'm not certain. Not the same employee safety rules in SA. Here, those costs will kill you in a deep shaft mine. That's why most copper mining these days is open-pit.
But...if the ore's rich enough, it might pay off, as long as the copper price holds. I'm still skeptical, though. This is another in a long series of plans to re-open the Magma Mine in Superior. None have gotten very far.
You're probably thinking of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The last copper mine - Calumet & Hecla - closed in about 1968 on the Peninsula.
A couple of efforts were made to re-open mines on the peninsula, but all for nought. The C & H, if I recall correctly, sank a shaft to more than 10,000 feet. In 1869 a single share of C & H sold for $5. By 1910 a share was valued at about $1,000. (Talk about a return. Wow!)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.