A heavy equipment mechanic repairs the shovel bucket of a giant ore excavator at the Cyprus Sierrita Copper Mine.

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The Cyprus Sierrita Copper Mine is the southernmost of three major open pit copper mines south of Tucson. It is a large open pit more than a mile wide, and 1,400 feet deep, surrounded by piles of overburden and a large tailings pond. Operated for years by the Cyprus Mineral Company, it was purchased by Phelps Dodge in 1999, which was acquired by Freeport McMoRan in 2007. Copper, and a fair amount of molybdenum have been mined here.

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Size: 6188px × 4117px
Location: Arizona, USA
Photo credit: © Ken Hawkins / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: Yes

Keywords: arizona, copper, economy, environment, environmental, equipment, grind, heavy, labor, laborer, metal, mining, open, ore, pit, precious, processing, production, refining, rock, safety, soft, tailings, tocic, tucson, usa, work, worker