Bagdad Copper Mine, Arizona

A major open-pit copper and molybdenum mine as well as company town in western Arizona. Operations have opened and shut over the years, and ownership has changed, though when operational around 500 people are employed at the pit and the processing plants here. Previous owners have included Cyprus Amax and Phelps Dodge, followed by Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan, who acquired Phelps Dodge in 2007. Freeport-McMoRan owns seven other copper mines in the southwest, including five in Arizona. The town of Bagdad, next to the pit, is owned by the company too, including the 400 homes for its workers.