Economic Impact

Arizona is home to an abundance of critical and strategic minerals capable of meeting our nation’s manufacturing and national security needs. In fact, 66% of our nation’s copper output came from Arizona in 2018. If Arizona were a country, it would be the seventh largest producer of copper in the entire world!

The mining industry is an important contributor to our state’s economy, providing a total economic impact of approximately $6.5 billion in 2018. An estimated 38,963 jobs in Arizona are connected to mining in some way. Mining jobs pay an average wage of $102,859, more than twice that of all Arizona jobs. The benefits of mining are diffuse throughout the state as mining continues to be a leading industry in several rural counties.

Arizona companies lead the United States in copper production, with approximately 65% of the
copper produced in this country coming from Arizona mines.

Download the 2020 Fact Sheet on the Economic Impact of Arizona’s Mining Industry for more data and information.

For more on the annual economic impact study prepared for the Arizona Mining Association by the L. William Seidman Research Institute at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, click on the link below.

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Geoscience and Arizona

Geoscience and Arizona is the newest factsheet and includes information on the role geoscience plays in powering Arizona’s economy.

  • Employment – 6,600 geoscience employees | 12,400 jobs in mining
  • Economic impact – $5.56 billion in nonfuel mineral production in 2016
  • Minerals | Water | Energy use – oil, gas, geothermal, uranium
  • Federal research dollars from NSF ($7.46 billion 2016), USGS, NASA, EPA, NOAA
  • Major federal facilities – USGS, NSF National Optical Astronomy Obs., Tucson
  • FEMA preparedness grants since 2005 total $474 million.

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did youknow?

Items such as cell phones, laptops, cars, buildings, lifesaving medical devices and equipment used in national defense systems – all come from minerals.

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