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Asarco LLC (American Smelting and Refining Company) is a
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
,
smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
, and
refining {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Refining (also perhaps called by the mathematical term affining) is the process of purification of a (1) substance or a (2) form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, b ...
company based in
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
, which mines and processes primarily
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
. The company has been a subsidiary of
Grupo México Grupo México is a Mexican conglomerate that operates through the following divisions: Mining (Minera Mexico), Transportation ( GMxT), Infrastructure and Fundacion Grupo Mexico. Its mining Division is the leading Copper producer in Mexico and t ...
since 1999. Its three largest
open-pit mines Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of mining ...
are the Mission, Silver Bell and Ray mines in Arizona. Its mines produce of copper a year. Asarco conducts
solvent extraction and electrowinning Solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW) is a two-stage hydrometallurgical process that first extracts and upgrades copper ions from low-grade leach solutions into a solvent containing a chemical that selectively reacts with and binds the co ...
at the Ray and Silver Bell mines in
Pima County, Arizona Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the population ...
, and
Pinal County, Arizona Pinal County is in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 census, the population of the county was 425,264, making it Arizona's third-most populous county. The county seat is Florence. The county was founded in 187 ...
, and operates a smelter in
Hayden, Arizona Hayden is a town in Gila and Pinal counties in Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town was 662. History Hayden was founded in 1909 and owned by the Kennecott Copper Corp. In 1912, the company built a s ...
. Asarco's smelting plant in
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
, was suspended in 1999 and then demolished on April 13, 2013. Before closing, the plant produced of anodes each year. Refining at the mines as well as at a copper refinery in
Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...
, produce of refined copper each year. Asarco's hourly workers are primarily represented by the
United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquar ...
. Asarco has 20
superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
sites across the United States, and it is subject to considerable litigation over
pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
. After emerging from bankruptcy in 2008, it made a settlement with the government of $1.79 billion for contamination at various sites; the funds were allotted to the
Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
(EPA) for cleanup at 26 sites around the country.ICTMN Staff, "Mining Company to Pay Coeur d’Alene, State of Idaho and U.S. Government"archived
''Indian Country Today'' Media Network, 16 June 2011; accessed 2 June 2016


History

Asarco was founded in 1888 as the American Smelting and Refining Company by
Henry H. Rogers Henry Huttleston Rogers (January 29, 1840 – May 19, 1909) was an American industrialist and financier. He made his fortune in the oil refining business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil. He also played a major role in numerous corporations a ...
,
William Rockefeller William Avery Rockefeller Jr. (May 31, 1841 – June 24, 1922) was an American businessman and financier. Rockefeller was a co-founder of Standard Oil along with his elder brother John Davison Rockefeller. He was also part owner of the Anaconda ...
,
Adolph Lewisohn Adolph Lewisohn (May 27, 1849 – August 17, 1938) was a German Jewish immigrant born in Hamburg who became a New York City investment banker, mining magnate, and philanthropist. He is the namesake of Lewisohn Hall (which formerly housed the Schoo ...
, Robert S. Towne,
Anton Eilers Frederic Anton Eilers (14 January 1839 – 22 April 1917), considered the father of lead-smelting in the United States, was a successful smelting and refining entrepreneur who co-founded the American Smelting and Refining Company, known today as AS ...
, and Leonard Lewisohn. From 1901 to 1959, American Smelting and Refining was included in the
Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
. In April 1901, the
Guggenheim family The Guggenheim family ( ) is an American-Jewish family known for making their fortune in the mining industry, in the early 20th century, especially in the United States and South America. After World War I, many family members withdrew from th ...
gained control of the company, and in 1905, bought the Tacoma smelter from the
Bunker Hill Mining Company The Bunker Hill Mining Company is a mining company with facilities in Kellogg and Wardner, Idaho. Early history Simeon Reed bought the Bunker Hill Mine and Mill, and incorporated the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining and Concentrating Company on ...
. Asarco eventually controlled 90% of the U.S. lead production, essentially becoming a smelter
trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...
. On January 11, 1916, sixteen Asarco employees were killed and mutilated by
Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (,"Villa"
''Collins English Dictionary''.
; ;
's men near the town of
Santa Isabel, Chihuahua Santa Isabel is a small town in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government ...
. It was one of the incidents that sparked the
Mexican Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...
, a United States Army attempt to capture or kill Villa. Based in
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
, the company grew to conduct
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
,
smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
, and
refining {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Refining (also perhaps called by the mathematical term affining) is the process of purification of a (1) substance or a (2) form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, b ...
of primarily copper.
Open-pit mining Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of mining ...
is primarily utilized as the most efficient method of recovering this metal; the company's three largest such works are the Mission, Silver Bell, and the Ray mines in Arizona. The company had also operated in silver mining in Idaho. Its mines produce of copper a year. Asarco conducts
solvent extraction and electrowinning Solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW) is a two-stage hydrometallurgical process that first extracts and upgrades copper ions from low-grade leach solutions into a solvent containing a chemical that selectively reacts with and binds the co ...
at the Ray and Silver Bell mines in
Pima County, Arizona Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the population ...
, and
Pinal County, Arizona Pinal County is in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 census, the population of the county was 425,264, making it Arizona's third-most populous county. The county seat is Florence. The county was founded in 187 ...
, and operates a smelter in
Hayden, Arizona Hayden is a town in Gila and Pinal counties in Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town was 662. History Hayden was founded in 1909 and owned by the Kennecott Copper Corp. In 1912, the company built a s ...
. It also had a smelting plant in
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
, operations of which were suspended. In 1975 it officially changed its name to Asarco Incorporated. In 1999 it was acquired by Grupo México, which had begun as Asarco's 49%-owned Mexican subsidiary in 1965. On August 9, 2005, the company filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
in Corpus Christi,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
under then-president Daniel Tellechea. As of 2019, Asarco operates two primary locations in the United States, a mining and smelting complex in Arizona and a copper refinery in
Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...
.


Pollution and environmental issues

ASARCO has been found responsible for environmental pollution at 20
Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
sites across the U.S. by the
Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
. Among those sites are: #American Smelting and Refining Co., located in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. Plant dissembled, remediation completed and site reused. #Interstate Lead Company, or ILCO, labeled EPA Site ALD041906173, and located in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
,
Jefferson County, Alabama Jefferson County is the List of counties in Alabama, most populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama, located in the central portion of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 674,721. Its county seat i ...
#Argo Smelter, Omaha & Grant Smelter, labeled EPA Site COD002259588, and located at Vasquez Boulevard and
I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
in
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
#"
Smeltertown Smeltertown was a residential community in El Paso County, Texas, housing the workers of the ASARCO smelter and their families, between El Paso and the Texas borders with Mexico and New Mexico. With only one small neighborhood, now known as th ...
",
El Paso County, Texas El Paso County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 865,657, making it the ninth-most populous county in the state of Texas. Its seat is the city of El Paso, the sixth-most populous ...
, where the copper plant's furnaces were illegally used to dispose of hazardous waste. The plant has since been dismantled.
California Gulch mine and river systems
in
Leadville, Colorado The City of Leadville is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorad ...
;
Summitville Consolidated Mining Corp., Inc. (SCMCI)
now bankrupt, EPA Site COD983778432, in Del Norte, Rio Grande County, Colorado;
Asarco Globe Plant
EPA Site COD007063530, Globeville, near South Platte River, Denver and Adams County, Colorado;
Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical
Coeur d'Alene River The Coeur d'Alene River flows from the Silver Valley into Lake Coeur d'Alene in the U.S. state of Idaho. The stream continues out of Lake Coeur d'Alene as the Spokane River. Before the Bunker Hill Smelter in the Kellogg area, which mined lead a ...
Basin, Idaho; # Kin-Buc Landfill in New Jersey; # Tar Creek (Ottawa County) lead and zinc operations and surrounding residences in Oklahoma; #
Commencement Bay Commencement Bay is a bay of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. The city of Tacoma is located on the bay, with the Port of Tacoma occupying the southeastern end. A line drawn from Point Defiance in the southwest to Browns Point in th ...
, Near Shore/Tide Flats smelter, groundwater, and residences in Tacoma and Ruston, Washington. # Everett Smelter, Everett, Washington. #
Murray, Utah Murray () is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Murray, it is the state's fourteenth largest city. According to the 2020 census, Murray had a populat ...
lead smelter operation, since reclaimed as part of EPA Superfund program and now the location of the
Intermountain Medical Center Intermountain Medical Center is the flagship hospital of Intermountain Healthcare. Located in Murray, Utah on a site at the center of the Salt Lake Valley, Intermountain Medical Center serves as a major adult referral center for six surrounding ...
.


Litigation history

After the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sued Asarco for damages to natural resources in 1983, the
EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
placed the ASARCO Globe Plant on its National Priorities List of Superfund sites, with Asarco to pay for the site's cleanup. In 1972 Asarco's downtown Omaha plant in Nebraska was found to be releasing high amounts of lead into the air and ground surrounding the plant. In 1995 Asarco submitted a demolition and site cleanup plan to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality for their impact on the local residential area. Fined $3.6 million in 1996 for discharging lead and other pollutants into the Missouri River, Asarco closed its Omaha plant in July 1997. After extensive site cleanup, the land was turned over to the
City of Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
as a park. All of
East Omaha East Omaha is a geographically designated community located in Omaha, Nebraska. Located three miles (5 km) from downtown Omaha, East Omaha is the site of Eppley Omaha International Airport, Omaha's main airport, and Carter Lake. This area was ...
, comprising more than 8,000 acres (32 km²), was declared a Superfund site. As of 2003, 290 acres (1.2 km²) had been cleaned. In 1991 the
Coeur d'Alene Tribe The Coeur d'Alene (also ''Skitswish''; natively ''Schi̲tsu'umsh'') are a Native American nation and one of five federally recognized tribes in the state of Idaho. The Coeur d'Alene have sovereign control of their Coeur d'Alene Reservation, w ...
filed suit under
CERCLA Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency ...
against Hecla Mining Company, Asarco and other defendants for damages and cleanup costs downstream of what has been designated as the
Bunker Hill Mine and Smelting Complex The Bunker Hill Mine and Smelting Complex (colloquially the Bunker Hill smelter) was a large smelter located in Kellogg, Idaho, in the Coeur d'Alene Basin. When built, it was the largest smelting facility in the world.National Research Council, 2 ...
Superfund site. Contamination had affected Lake Coeur d'Alene and the Saint Joe River, as well as related waters and lands, and cleanup had been under way since the early 1980s. In 1996 the United States joined the suit. In 2008 after emerging from bankruptcy, Asarco LLC settled for $452 million for contributions to this site.Becky Kramer, "Hecla Mining Co. settles Superfund cleanup lawsuit"
''The Spokesman,'' 14 June 2011; accessed 31 May 2016
"Hecla Mining Company to Pay $263 Million in Settlement to Resolve Idaho Superfund Site Litigation and Foster Cooperation"
Press release, US Department of Justice, 13 June 2011; accessed 31 May 2016
This was part of a nearly $2 billion settlement (see below) with the US for a total of 26 sites. In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency released the results of soil and air tests in
Hayden, Arizona Hayden is a town in Gila and Pinal counties in Arizona, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town was 662. History Hayden was founded in 1909 and owned by the Kennecott Copper Corp. In 1912, the company built a s ...
, taken adjacent to the Asarco Hayden Smelter. The results showed abnormally high amounts of pollutants that violate prescribed health standards. Arsenic, lead and copper were among the most egregious pollutants found in Hayden. As a consequence of the contamination, the EPA proposed to add Hayden, Arizona, to the list of Federal Superfund sites. This action would provide funding to clean up the contamination. Asarco fought the action, supported by Democratic Gov.
Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and university administrator who served as the 21st governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009 and third United States secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 20 ...
, who said: "I am asking that the EPA delay final decision on listing until March 31, 2008. This would provide ample time for the EPA, in close coordination with ADEQ, to enter an agreement with Asarco to conduct remedial actions..." After emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008, Asarco made a settlement with the government of $1.79 billion for contamination at various sites; the funds were allotted to the
Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
(EPA) for cleanup at 26 sites around the country. A final settlement for $1.79 billion was made in 2009 for up 80 sites, including one of the most notorious, the smelting plant at
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
, for which cleanup was set to start in 2010.


Documentary

Asarco's
Tar Creek Superfund site Tar Creek Superfund site is a United States Superfund site, declared in 1983, located in the cities of Picher and Cardin, Ottawa County, in northeastern Oklahoma. From 1900 to the 1960s lead mining and zinc mining companies left behind huge open ...
was the subject of the film documentary '' Tar Creek'' (2009), made by Matt Myers. At one time, Tar Creek was considered to be the worst environmental problem on the EPA's list of more than 1200 sites.


See also

*
List of Superfund sites in Alabama This is a list of Superfund sites in Alabama designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) environmental law. The CERCLA federal law of 1980 authorized the United States Environmental Protection ...
*
List of Superfund sites in Colorado This is a list of Superfund sites in Colorado designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) environmental law. The CERCLA federal law of 1980 authorized the United States Environmental Protecti ...
*
List of Superfund sites in Illinois This is a list of Superfund sites in Illinois designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) environmental law. These sites are listed on the National Priorities List. 13 Sites are listed belo ...
*
List of Superfund sites in Oklahoma This is a list of Superfund sites in Oklahoma designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) environmental law. The CERCLA federal law of 1980 authorized the United States Environmental Protecti ...
*
Picher, Oklahoma Picher is a ghost town and former city in Ottawa County, northeastern Oklahoma, United States. It was a major national center of lead and zinc mining for more than 100 years in the heart of the Tri-State Mining District. The decades of unrest ...
* Francis H. Brownell


References


External links


Official website
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20040528184602/http://www.grupomexico.com/Html/AboutUsGM.htm Grupo México history
A Toxic Century: Mining Giant Asarco Must Clean Up Mess : NPR 2010


* Marilyn Berlin Snell
"Going for Broke"
''Sierra Club Magazine'', May/June 2006. * Michael E. Ketterer
The Asarco El Paso Smelter: A Source of Local Contamination of Soils in El Paso (Texas), Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua, Mexico), and Anapra (New Mexico)
2006. *Jake Bernstein
Clean up or Cover Up?
{Dead link, date=October 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes "The Texas Observer", 2004.




Asarco Taylor Springs Illinois
Historical Society of Montgomery County Illinois Companies based in Tucson, Arizona Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005 Former components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Metal companies of the United States Copper mining companies of the United States Smelting Superfund sites in Colorado Mines in Arizona