Clifton, Ariz. – An insatiable hunger for copper in China and Malaysia has squeezed Stacie Boardman and her family into very tight living arrangements.
The Boardmans are bunking inside a 22-foot travel trailer a few miles down a curving mountain road from the sprawling Morenci Copper Mine – the largest open- pit copper mine in the northern hemisphere.
Within the trailer’s cozy 220 square feet, two adults, three boys, two boxers and a Labrador retriever have shared space for the past six months.
“This is what people take camping,” Boardman said, motioning to the trailer. “It’s fine for a single man. They’re at the mine for an eight-hour shift, then they come home to sleep. For a family, it’s not an adequate situation.”
Phelps Dodge is expanding the Morenci mine and preparing to open another open-pit mine in nearby Safford, Ariz.
Over an 18-month span ending next year, the company will add 1,100 jobs, boosting its total employment at the two operations to 3,500.
These days, with miners and construction workers arriving in droves, hotels are booked throughout southeastern Arizona and rental homes and apartments are taken. Some miners have hauled RVs into Clifton, parking wherever they can find room.
The activity in Arizona is linked to dramatic growth in Asia.
Demand for copper is equally high in Malaysia and India. Asian developers are using copper for new home construction and infrastructure improvements, and overseas businesses are trying to keep pace in an ever-changing global electronics industry.
Subsequently, the price of copper has rocketed, jumping from 60 cents a pound in 2001 to around $3.50 currently.
The ravenous demand has encouraged American copper producers to expand existing operations, open new mines or restart those that were idled for years.
In Clifton and surrounding areas, it also has pressed Phelps Dodge officials to find creative housing solutions.
The company plans to spend $122 million in the next year to build 495 homes in the Copper Verde Park area of Clifton.
But there’s a long waiting list.
