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Poston Butte Mountain’s ‘Pyramid to the Sun’.
Visiting the core shed on the Florence Copper tour.
By Stacy Gramazio
Special to the Nugget
“Where is the big open pit?” This is a typical question I’ll hear when I tell people I work for a copper mining company. Most people who’ve grown up here know a little bit about the state’s history of copper. Harkening back to junior high lectures of the 5 C’s of Arizona, they usually expect to hear exciting tales about a big hole in the ground, large trucks and shovels, and waste pile, and while I’m happy to explain how the Florence Copper project will recover copper using a state-of-the-art technology, the best suggestion I can offer is to take the tour.
With their curiosity piqued, I explain that we offer free tours of our copper recovery site along Hunt Highway at least twice a month.
Florence Copper is different –we are a company proposing to use cutting-edge in-situ technology that is minimally invasive to the land. I watch the interest and excitement grow in their expressions as they discover the opportunity here in the Town of Florence: Florence Copper, in full production, will create over 170 direct head of household jobs and hundreds of additional indirect jobs using a process that is technically proven, environmentally safe and allows for a number of exciting possibilities for the second life of the land at the close of the project.
Tours of Florence Copper are open to anyone, and they provide a great education about in-situ copper recovery technology in a just a couple hours. Let me tell you about a typical site tour:
Generally, guests of Florence Copper site tours start their day at our Community Office, located in downtown Florence at 130 N. Main Street. One of Florence’s official historic sites, this is a place we love to show off. From its start in 1948 as the site of the local town hall that included a police and fire station, to its days as the Country Thunder offices, this location has served the community in many capacities.
When you arrive, we’ll have a cup of coffee and doughnuts waiting for you from Eugene & Kim’s, a great local donut shop. After getting to know each other a bit, you’ll be invited to view a short slide presentation about the Florence Copper project, which includes our animated video of in-situ technology, “Changing the Way Copper Is Made.” We’ll make sure your questions are answered by our hydrologists and environmental engineers who proudly explain how the groundwater is protected and hydraulic control is maintained with in-situ technology.
Then you’ll hop on the tour bus, head toward the “mine.” Along the way, you’ll hear about the history of the copper site that was first discovered in the 1960s. The agricultural and industrial sites that surround the property are easily spotted, and you’ll notice how Florence Copper is directly across the highway from Poston Butte Mountain. (Often referred to by locals as “F” mountain because of a large letter F on its side. This mountain is distinct with its “pyramid to the sun” on its summit. It’s also the burial place for Charles D. Poston, known as “the Father of Arizona.”)
Once on site, you’ll enter the administration building. Here, you can see and touch drill core samples taken from the copper bearing deposit located around 700 feet underground. It becomes clear how Mother Nature has been very helpful to Florence Copper, the core samples show how the deposit is broken up naturally, offering perfect in-situ copper recovery conditions that will never require hydraulic fracturing.
Once back on the bus, we’ll pull up to a vintage Quonset hut that originally came from William’s Field Air Force base. At Florence Copper, we call this our “library” as it contains hundreds and hundreds of core samples that geologists have been studying since the late 1960s. If the cores were laid end to end it would stretch more than 150 miles! It becomes crystal clear how we know that Florence Copper has ideal conditions for this project, the data is there to prove it.
Next, we arrive at the existing in-situ copper recovery well field that was once successfully operated in the late 1990s by BHP Copper. You’ll see for yourself the small footprint of the recovery wells and well field, and how they function. Like BHP, Florence Copper will use a 99.5% water and 0.5% sulfuric acid solution to gently extract the copper through the hydraulic closed-loop system created by these wells. We’ll remind you that this solution is about the same acidity as common household vinegar and hydraulic control of the solution is always maintained 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our operating permits include an Aquifer Protection Permit from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and an Underground Injection Control Permit issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that our groundwater is continually protected.
At this point, I get to enjoy the best part of my job, distributing the Florence Copper hats and other giveaways. Our guests are generally enthusiastic and happy knowing that soon the world will be watching Florence and Florence Copper when our Production Test Facility begins operations, and most are ready to proudly put on their Florence Copper ball caps and continue their day.
We return to the Community Office in downtown Florence and while the tour may be over, our team is still prepared to answer any remaining questions you may have. Our goal is to maintain complete transparency about the Florence Copper project, and our door is open long after your visit is over.
Sound interesting? If so, give me a call at the Florence Copper office, and I’ll be more than happy to reserve your space for a tour. (520) 374-3984 or email stacygramazio@florencecopper.com.
Public tours are the second and fourth Fridays of the month at 9 a.m. Alternate tours are arranged for community groups and special situations.
Come experience Florence Copper. It’s not your grandfather’s copper mine, but it’s one with a long history and a great future.
The well fields at Florence Copper.
tours start their day at our Community Office, located in downtown Florence at 130 N. Main Street. One of Florence’s official historic sites, this is a place we love to show off. From its start in 1948 as the site of the local town hall that included a police and fire station, to its days as the Country Thunder offices, this location has served the community in many capacities.
When you arrive, we’ll have a cup of coffee and doughnuts waiting for you from Eugene & Kim’s, a great local donut shop. After getting to know each other a bit, you’ll be invited to view a short slide presentation about the Florence Copper project, which includes our animated video of in-situ technology, “Changing the Way Copper Is Made.” We’ll make sure your questions are answered by our hydrologists and environmental engineers who proudly explain how the groundwater is protected and hydraulic control is maintained with in-situ technology.
Then you’ll hop on the tour bus, head toward the “mine.” Along the way, you’ll hear about the history of the copper site that was first discovered in the 1960s. The agricultural and industrial sites that surround the property are easily spotted, and you’ll notice how Florence Copper is directly across the highway from Poston Butte Mountain. (Often referred to by locals as “F” mountain because of a large letter F on its side. This mountain is distinct with its “pyramid to the sun” on its summit. It’s also the burial place for Charles D. Poston, known as “the Father of Arizona.”)
Once on site, you’ll enter the administration building. Here, you can see and touch drill core samples taken from the copper bearing deposit located around 700 feet underground. It becomes clear how Mother Nature has been very helpful to Florence Copper, the core samples show how the deposit is broken up naturally, offering perfect in-situ copper recovery conditions that will never require hydraulic fracturing.
Once back on the bus, we’ll pull up to a vintage Quonset hut that originally came from William’s Field Air Force base. At Florence Copper, we call this our “library” as it contains hundreds and hundreds of core samples that geologists have been studying since the late 1960s. If the cores were laid end to end it would stretch more than 150 miles! It becomes crystal clear how we know that Florence Copper has ideal conditions for this project, the data is there to prove it.
Next, we arrive at the existing in-situ copper recovery well field that was once successfully operated in the late 1990s by BHP Copper. You’ll see for yourself the small footprint of the recovery wells and well field, and how they function. Like BHP, Florence Copper will use a 99.5% water and 0.5% sulfuric acid solution to gently extract the copper through the hydraulic closed-loop system created by these wells. We’ll remind you that this solution is about the same acidity as common household vinegar and hydraulic control of the solution is always maintained 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our operating permits include an Aquifer Protection Permit from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and an Underground Injection Control Permit issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that our groundwater is continually protected.
At this point, I get to enjoy the best part of my job, distributing the Florence Copper hats and other giveaways. Our guests are generally enthusiastic and happy knowing that soon the world will be watching Florence and Florence Copper when our Production Test Facility begins operations, and most are ready to proudly put on their Florence Copper ball caps and continue their day.
We return to the Community Office in downtown Florence and while the tour may be over, our team is still prepared to answer any remaining questions you may have. Our goal is to maintain complete transparency about the Florence Copper project, and our door is open long after your visit is over.
Sound interesting? If so, give me a call at the Florence Copper office, and I’ll be more than happy to reserve your space for a tour. (520) 374-3984 or email stacygramazio@florencecopper.com.
Public tours are the second and fourth Fridays of the month at 9 a.m. Alternate tours are arranged for community groups and special situations.
Come experience Florence Copper. It’s not your grandfather’s copper mine, but it’s one with a long history and a great future.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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