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Desert Mines Hike Hopes as Ore Prices Skyrocket

TUCSON-Interest is renewed in some dormant Southwest mines although preparation and studies are long and costly. One London firm has put up $652 million to determine feasibility.

By Amy Wolff Sorter | Updated on September 25, 2008

TUCSON-Given the current economy and the scramble into gold and other precious metal investments, it could be assumed that long dormant mines in the Southwest will be gearing up to yield gold, copper and other valuable ores. But mining experts point out that just because interest in the commodities market is surging, there’s a long road to get some of the old mines working and on line.

“The properties themselves have been there forever,” says Andrew Brodkey, a mining consultant with CB Richard Ellis in Tucson. “What we’re seeing recently is a kind of renewed interest in some of the old mining districts.”

Those districts span the Southwest desert, encompassing Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona. One such district, Castle Copper/Molybdenum in Tucson, is undergoing a study by landowner AmMex Gold Mining Corp. Farther north in Superior, AZ, Rio Tinto Copper, based in London, recently unveiled plans to invest $652 million to continue a feasibility study concerning a copper deposit at its Resolution Copper Mining operation.

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