DIGGING DEEP FOR SUCCESS
Mining and other industries will be driving billions of dollars into Pinal County’s economy
Pinal Partnership - Uniting the vision for Pinal County
Pinal County continues to be the fastest growing county in Arizona with some of the most exciting possibilities in the country. Nowhere else can you find the combination of new roads, new housing, innovative economic development and beautiful recreational open space.
Pinal Partnership formed in 2005 to bring together people who want the very best for Pinal County. Our members represent industry leaders throughout Pinal County including agriculture, home building, manufacturing, mining, renewable energy and tourism as well as state, county and city/town government leadership.
COPPER COUNTY
Mining in Pinal County will generate billions in economic activity
By KYLE BACKER
SincePinal County’s formation in 1875, copper mining has been an integral part of the region’s economy, creating thousands of jobs and generating billions of dollars in tax revenue. Today, Arizona leads the nation in copper production, accounting for approximately 70% of U.S. domestic output according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Arizona Mining Association reports that the mining and rock products industries support over 74,700 jobs in the state.
GAME-CHANGING PROJECT: The Resolution Copper project is a proposed underground mine 60 miles east of Phoenix, near the town of Superior. The ore deposit lies nearly 7,000 feet below the earth’s surface. It represents one of the most significant untapped copper deposits today, with an estimated copper resource of 1.787 billion metric tonnes at an average grade of 1.5% copper. The mine has the potential to supply nearly 25% of U.S. copper demand. (Photo courtesy of Resolution Copper)
As the demand for copper increases thanks to electric vehicles and other technological advances, Pinal County is seeing a resurgence of copper mining, with operations such as Florence Copper and Resolution Copper hitting important project milestones.
“Florence Copper is at a very exciting point in our project’s history,” explains Sophie Dessart, manager of communications and public affairs for Florence Copper in an email interview.
“Following receipt of our final major federal permit in the fall of 2023, we are advancing toward commercial operations. This expands our smallerscale production test facility, which successfully produced over 1 million pounds of copper on site using [insitu copper recovery (ISCR)]. The first copper cathode from Florence Copper’s commercial facility is expected at the end of next year (2025).”
Over the 22-year life of the operation, Florence Copper will produce 1.5 billion pounds of copper, with an annual production capacity of 85 million pounds. The deposit that Resolution Copper will be mining is located between 5,000 and 7,000 feet below ground and is expected to become the largest copper mine in North America, producing up to 25% of U.S. copper demand each year. Resolution Copper is estimated to extract up to 40 billion pounds of copper over its 40-year operation.
Here’s more about these two transformative mining projects in Pinal County.
Florence Copper
Located midway between Phoenix and Tucson, the Florence Copper deposit was discovered in 1969, but it has taken decades for the conditions to be right to advance the deposit into commercial operations. Dessart notes that technological advances in mining, coupled with an increasing demand for minerals like copper, have pushed projects forward that previously were not economically or technologically feasible.
Rather than an open-pit or underground mine, Florence Copper utilizes a process known as ISCR, where copper minerals are dissolved below
PINAL COUNTY DEVELOPMENT
“We are seeing a resurgence of mining in Pinal County. Mining projects are incredibly unique in the sense that we don’t choose where to locate our business — we have to go to where the resources are located.” – Sophie Dessart
ground and pumped to the surface as a copper-rich solution, which is then plated into LME Grade A copper cathode sheets on site. The ISCR process comes with environmental benefits, Dessart explains, including limited land disturbance, reduced greenhouse gas emissions intensity, and lower energy and water use.
Currently, Florence Copper has approximately 70 employees, but is set to hire another 90 in the next year, with a focus on hiring Arizona talent.
“As a project, we are committed to providing local job opportunities, and I’m proud to say that the majority of our 2023 and 2024 hires were local Pinal County residents,” Dessart says. “Over the operation’s lifetime, Florence Copper will support an annual average of approximately 820 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Arizona, according to an economic and fiscal impact study conducted by the L. William Seidman Research Institute at Arizona State University.”
Researchers at ASU estimate that Florence Copper will increase the state’s GDP by more than $4.3 billion over 26 years, with more than $2.6 billion in economic activity originating in Pinal County. The report also finds that the project will support $2.2 billion in personal income over the same time span, including more than $1.5 billion for Pinal County workers and business owners.
“We are seeing a resurgence of mining in Pinal County. Mining projects are incredibly unique in the
sense that we don’t choose where to locate our business — we have to go to where the resources are located,” Dessart says. “Pinal County has been fortunate to be endowed with significant natural resources, particularly copper deposits.”
As the U.S. continues to transition to green technologies, Dessart says that copper will remain a vital asset for the state.
“The green energy transition will not be possible without copper,” she continues. “Solar and wind power are two to five times more copper intensive than traditional energy sources, and electric vehicles require more copper compared to conventional gas-powered cars, meaning that copper will become an even more important part of our lives in the future.”
Resolution Copper
From 1910 to 1996, the Magma Mine produced copper near the Town of Superior. In 2004, Resolution Copper assumed control of the Magma Mine to extract a rich new copper deposit and keep the site active after closure. So far, more than $2 billion has been spent on the project.
The current permitting process started in 2013, and the U.S. Forest Service published the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) in 2020, but Tyson Nansel, principal advisor communications for Resolution Copper, explains that it was rescinded in early 2021 to
conduct further tribal consultation and confirm strict compliance with environmental laws.
“We’re waiting for the republication of the FEIS, but once that happens, that’s just one big step for Resolution to get into construction, and then work through other permits before we eventually start mining,” he says. “We are going to be operating a significant, technology-driven mine with a substantial copper ore body. The mine is estimated to produce 40 billion pounds of copper ore over 40 years.”
Construction on the mine will take about a decade to complete, but once Resolution Copper is fully operational, it expects to directly employ 1,500 workers. Nansel notes that the company is committed to hiring local vendors and workers, so the project expects to create an additional 2,200 indirect jobs, meaning the mine will support 3,700 total employees.
“People think of old historic mines with miners swinging pickaxes where protecting the environment wasn’t top of mind,” Nansel continues. “Mining is now done with a lot of care. We’ve done extensive community and Native American consultation to make sure that there is minimal impact to the area. Resolution Copper is committed for the life of the mine and beyond to safely and responsibly develop one of the largest copper mines in North America while also bringing jobs and long-term economic benefits to the region.”
Sophie Dessart Tyson Nansel
MINING TOMORROW’S COPPER WITH LESS WATER
Using cutting-edge tech to recycle water & cut consumption
Transferring 5,400+ acres of water-critical land to federal conservation.
Continuously monitoring groundwater with Tribal members and local Community Working Group
PINAL COUNTY DEVELOPMENT
CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF
How the aviation industry is expanding in Pinal County
rizona’s aerospace industry has long been a critical sector for the state, with the Aeronautical Repair Station Association ranking Arizona among the top two for aviation maintenance economic activity. While Greater Phoenix and Tucson are home to many companies in the sector, Pinal County has seen a recent surge of aviation-related development from companies such as Win Aviation and Ascent Aviation Services.
Hennie van Niekerk, pre-construction manager at Alston Construction, says that there are multiple reasons why the aviation industry is growing. The state’s low humidity and minimal rain reduces the risk of corrosion and weatherrelated damage to aircraft, making it an appealing place to build a hangar.
“Arizona has a reputation for being business-friendly, offering various tax incentives and favorable regulations to attract and retain businesses. These incentives can potentially encourage private hangar development by reducing the financial burden on developers and operators,” van Niekerk writes in an email.
One company investing in Pinal County is Win Aviation. Alston Construction is building a new 36,000-square-foot hangar located at Coolidge Municipal Airport for Win Aviation’s maintenance operations.
“In a nutshell, [Win Aviation] purchases aircraft from the military and lease them back, and they cover the maintenance in between,” van Niekerk continues. “They have approximately 28 aircraft, along with pilots who fly them. When the planes need major repairs, they will either come to Arizona or to their headquarters in Illinois.”
The hangar has airside access via the taxiway, which makes this project unique.
“The hangar has a concrete apron on the front of it, but it also has a hangar door in the front and back,” van Niekerk explains. “That means [Win Aviation] can take the aircraft from the front to the back, which is not common.”
Pinal Airpark
Southeast of the Coolidge Municipal Airport is Pinal Air Park, which is the site of Ascent Aviation Service’s recent expansion. The $55 million project will increase the company’s hangar capacity by 180,000 square feet, along with an additional 60,000 square feet of storage and shop space. Ascent Aviation Services will use the facility to convert two lines of Boeing B777-300ER aircraft for Israel Aerospace Industries, supporting more than 300 new jobs.
“This investment not only enhances our aerospace capabilities, but also underscores the collaborative and
PINAL COUNTY DEVELOPMENT
regional spirit of our community,” says Joe Snell, president and CEO of Sun Corridor Inc., in a press release. “Together, we continue to position Southern Arizona as a leader in aviation innovation, driving economic growth and prosperity for generations to come.”
Scott Butler, chief commercial officer for Ascent Aviation Services, adds that the company will gut existing passenger aircraft, reinforce all the structural areas and cut out a larger door to make room for cargo before doing a heavy maintenance check and recertifying the plane for cargo operations.
“There are freighters delivered directly from Boeing, but they cost as much as a brand-new aircraft,” Butler explains. “The business case [for Ascent Aviation Services] is to take a midlifecycle aircraft — which for a widebody plane is anywhere from 15 to 20 years — and convert it to cargo, which gives the owner another two decades plus out of that aircraft.”
Arizona’s robust aviation industry makes it an attractive place to expand operations, Butler continues.
“As a company, you don’t want to be on an island by yourself,” he says. “You want to make sure the ecosystem can continue to support you. Not only do we need workers and infrastructure, but we need a good government partner like Pinal Airpark and the county to help remove roadblocks.”
Having an existing supply chain is also a boon for business, especially since Ascent Aviation Services needs to turnaround aircraft quickly at times.
“A lot of our vendors are all within Arizona or very close by,” Butler says. “There are several companies
in Phoenix and in Tucson that can support us on different aircraft. Luke Air Force Base and Davis-Monthan Airforce Base creates a pipeline, including people innovating and starting their own companies here.”
Construction quirks
Every project has its own intricacies, but building at an airport comes with its own unique challenges. Jim Petty, airport operations manager at Pinal Airpark, notes that nearly anytime something is built at the airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gets involved.
“If [a project] changes anything on the airport layout plan, it has to be environmentally cleared,” he explains. “Depending on the size and scope of the project, it can be as simple as writing an email.”
A building may require what’s called a categorical exclusion, where the construction company fills out a document asking environment related questions such as archaeological hotspots, endangered species and wetlands. Petty notes that the categorical exclusion process for Ascent Aviation Services’ project took nearly three months to complete, whereas an environmental impact statement — which is the most comprehensive process — can take upwards of three years to get approval.
Safety is another primary concern of the FAA, and a safety plan must be signed off by the agency before any construction can begin.
“They review [the safety plan] and either accept it or make comments on what needs to change,” Petty says. “That helps ensure that people are
using the runway facilities in a safe manner with proper signage and barricades during construction. For a project like Ascent is doing, we have to do a notice of proposed construction to the FAA. That includes reporting the latitude and longitude of the buildings and the height of the building. The FAA analyzes that to see if there’s going to be any impact to flight at the airport, or if it’s a tall structure it may need to be illuminated.”
Dean Howard, director of business development at Alston Construction, adds that building at an airport requires coordination with multiple stakeholders, including officials from the FAA, airport and city. Getting construction materials in and out of the airport is more challenging than a typical jobsite, and security concerns may require workers to have an escort onto the premises.
“The regulations and bureaucracies involved can get technical, whether you’re working at a large airport like Sky Harbor all the way down to these smaller municipal airports. There’s an extra air of caution and nuances we have to be familiar with,” he continues.
From an economic development perspective, Howard is bullish on Pinal County and sees it as a region ripe for continued growth.
“We’ve all learned that we need to have a diverse economy in this state, and in my opinion, Pinal County is the hot spot for development right now,” he concludes. “There’s Lucid Motors, LG Energy Solution already there, and lots of other companies are looking down there to locate. Pinal County is turning into one of the most diverse markets in the state.”
Jim Petty
Scott Butler Hennie van Niekerk Dean Howard
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PINAL COUNTY DEVELOPMENT
LEARNING TO EARN
How Pinal County educational institutions are preparing the future workforce
By KYLE BACKER
Pinal County has grown rapidly over the last decade, with the Pinal County Economic and Workforce Development Department reporting that population numbers rose from 382,662 residents in 2013 to 467,459 in 2023, constituting nearly a 22.2% increase. Over the same period, companies such as Lucid Motors, LG Energy Solution and Kohler have chosen to locate in the county, creating thousands of jobs. Meeting the workforce requirements of these companies — and others — requires a dynamic education system responsive to the needs of industry.
Two such organizations in Pinal County are Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology (CAVIT) and Central Arizona College (CAC). Here’s more about how each institution is helping prepare students for gainful employment.
High school learners
Located in Coolidge, CAVIT is a public school district that partners with 17 high schools in Pinal County to provide career and technical education (CTE) classes across multiple disciplines, including construction, welding and electric vehicle (EV) maintenance.
Mike Glover, superintendent of CAVIT, explains that the programs the school offers relate to the in-demand job opportunities in the county.
“We’re all about making sure students get the training they need so they can get immediate employment upon high school graduation,” he continues. “We also work with CAC and offer free dual enrollment credits so students have a jumpstart into post-secondary pathways if that’s their choice. And each of our programs lead to employer-valued and industry-required certifications that will give them
immediate employment into the field they’re interested in.”
As employers move into the area, CAVIT’s programming has expanded to meet the needs of those businesses. Glover notes that in recent years, an influx of employers in the manufacturing and industrial sectors have come to Pinal County, which has led to new options for students.
“We added automated industrial technology, which is a manufacturing driven program to meet the needs of companies that are producing products,” Glover says. “We also added construction and welding, and we’re considering more programs like plumbing, HVAC and electrical. Several years ago, the data did not show the demand for these types of industrial trade programs.”
To ensure that students are learning up-to-date techniques, each program has an advisory committee that meets
Photo provided by Acobe stock
PINAL COUNTY DEVELOPMENT
about four times a year to comment on the curriculum. CAVIT also brings in members of industry to evaluate the performance of students. The majority of teachers are also coming directly from industry into the classroom, giving students insight into what a career in a particular field looks like from a seasoned professional.
Beyond technical skills, CAVIT also teaches “soft skills” such as public speaking and sending professional emails. One of the ways this is practiced is through a career display project, where first year students research a career path and present their findings. There’s also a career speaker forum project that tasks students with bringing in someone from industry to speak to the class about a career pathway.
“Students are trained on how to make a cold call, schedule a time for the speaker and get everything set up for when they come to our campus,” Glover says. “The student introduces the speaker to the class and then leads the discussion after the presentation. The speaker then evaluates that student on their application of professional skills throughout the entire project. It helps our students see what kind of jobs are out there, and it also allows them to make connections and build mentorship opportunities with industry folks.”
Most programs require two years to complete, meaning that students start in their junior year of high school. Glover says that occasionally a student can’t fit CAVIT into their schedule junior year, so they begin the program
as a senior and return to CAVIT after they graduate to finish the program.
Post-secondary prospects
Having an option for high school students to gain industry certifications is a great asset for residents of Pinal County, but there are also options for folks after graduation or are looking for a career change. CAC offers multiple programs for adult learners to earn certifications that will help them find employment.
Andrew Clegg, executive director of career and workforce training at CAC, explains that his role is to interface with businesses that are already in or looking to locate in Pinal County and identify what programs exist to meet their industry needs.
“When LG Energy Solution came into town, we sat down with them and looked at what their job needs were,” he continues. “We identified that we had a training program called automated industrial technology that gives individuals the experience needed to repair all manufacturing equipment. We train what I call the 80%, meaning we give them the general knowledge to be a technician, and then the company will do that last 20% of specialized training.”
The college offers numerous trades-focused courses on its various campuses, but one unique program is called Drive48, which is made possible through a partnership between City of Casa Grande, Pinal County and CAC.
The 13,000-square-foot, state-of-theart facility features robots and multiple training rooms where technicians train for jobs in advanced manufacturing.
Currently, Drive48 is set up to prepare workers on how to program, maintain and troubleshoot assembly robots used in automotive manufacturing.
“Right now, the building is occupied by Lucid Motors, and they’ll bring some of our students there to see the actual robots they may work on at Lucid Motor or another manufacturer,” Clegg explains.
CAC manages and maintains the facility, so when Lucid Motors is finished with it, the building will be used for other programming. The relationship is beneficial to both parties, since Lucid Motors has a place to train employees, and the company helps the college stay up to date on the processes and equipment used in the industry.
Drive48 is the model for other similar programs in the works, collectively called Future48 Workforce Accelerators. Another facility is underway at CAC’s Superstition Mountain Campus in Apache Junction to serve the needs of LG Energy Solution.
“[The company] is building a battery plant in Queen Creek, and we’re hoping to have a building built there similar to what Lucid Motors has,” Clegg says.
“We’ve been working with [LG Energy Solution] for months on what their needs are for training, and we’re looking forward to our partnership.”
Clegg adds that colleges across the state are invaluable parts of their communities.
“We’re providing skills that individuals can use to make a living,” he concludes.
“With any of our trade programs, you come out making a great wage for a fraction of the cost.”
Andrew Clegg Mike Glover
INDUSTRIAL PARK
Casa Grande
