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.

On 28 Sept. 2017, I drove to Hayden to interview long-time ASARCO employee Joe Wilhelm regarding the history and future of the Hayden Smelter.