Chapter 5: The North American Manufacturing Core

     Although Arizona is not part of the United States' manufacturing core, it has had a successful mining past.  Arizona has experienced a successful copper and mining industry.  Silver was a big reason why Arizona was explored by the Spanish in the first place.  Silver ore was discovered by the Spanish in 1583 by Antonio de Espejo but was never mined.  It wasn't until 1853, after Arizona became under U.S. control, that mining for silver began at areas previously known to the Spanish.  Today, most of the silver deposits have been mined but Arizona still produces more silver than in its mining days but as a byproduct of mining for copper, a far more successful industry. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_mining_in_Arizona)

     Copper has proved to be a better industry than silver.  The Morenci Mine is the state's top producer of copper to date.  The mine was opened in 1873 and is responsible for half of Arizona's copper production.  As of 2006, there are 11 copper producing mines in Arizona. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_mining_in_Arizona)