Description:
Arizona has the best copper deposits in the United States, and produces more of the red metal
than most countries except Chile and Peru. All mining needs water for mining and processing
and copper mining is no exception. Arizona is mostly desert and, therefore, short of water. This
scarcity has been exacerbated because of the rapid growth of population in the state and the
resulting enhanced demands for the resource. This has also attracted the attention of the general
public to the use of water for mining.
Most water is used in flotation beneficiation, smelting, and electro-refining. Small amounts are
used for domestic purposes (drinking, bathing, and such). It is also used for wetting roads to
suppress dust. Factors affecting dust suppression include annual precipitation, natural
vegetation, land morphology, and other factors. The amount of water used for wetting may vary
between 0% and 15% of the total water used at the mine, depending on conditions. The water
source may be from underground aquifers, Central Arizona (CAP), surface streams,
precipitation, or a combination.