Sahuarita, Arizona: Open Pit Copper Mine Tour
Bus takes you to stand at the edge of the open-pit mine -- two miles wide -- then view the copper mill in operation.
ASARCO Mineral Discovery Center
- Address:
- 1421 W. Pima Mine Rd, Sahuarita, AZ
- Directions:
- ASARCO Mineral Discovery Center. I-19 exit 80. Turn west onto W. Pima Mine Rd, then make an immediate left (south) onto W. Mineral Hill Rd. Drive a quarter-mile. Turn right into the parking lot.
- Hours:
- Tu-Sa 9-5 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 520-625-7513
- Admission:
- Discovery Center is free. Mine tour is $10.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
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Excellent tour of an active open-pit mine and the milling complex where the copper-rich rocks are crushed and ground into fine sand, then added to water and special chemicals to create a slurry from which the copper is floated and skimmed from the top.
The discovery center has several educational videos fully explaining the process. Outside the center is a nice collection of vehicles and other mining equipment for viewing and photo ops.
[Luv2RV, 06/06/2023]Visit the exhibit center and video theater, then take a tour of the Asarco Mission Mine, the only open copper pit mine tour in Arizona. Stand at the edge of the open-pit mine, then view the copper mill in operation.
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The pit is two miles wide, and the observation point has classic binocular viewers. Claimed: "About six times the amount of earth moved to dig the Panama Canal has been mined here."