AZGS' Open-File Report 'Directory of Active Mines in Arizona: FY2021' documents 433 active, full-time mines or development projects in the state of Arizona. Mines come in all shapes and sizes, from small sand and gravel operations providing materials for local road maintenance and construction to the large open-pit copper mines, such as Morenci and Ray.
There were 401 active, full-time mines or development projects operating in the state of Arizona in 2020.
They surround you almost anywhere you are in Arizona. They cling to your shoes, they end up in pockets and pant cuffs, they provide a little crunch to that clam chowder you made, they color the water of streams tumbling through mountain canyons, and they wash back and forth in the waves on the shore of an ocean or lake.
America’s infrastructure is built of sand, gravel, and crushed rock; collectively referred to as aggregate. And that is the topic of our 45th episode of the Arizona Mining Review - an interview with Eric Mears on gravel production and consumption in the Phoenix Metro area.