Anani Discusses Arizona's Mining Strengths

As part of a series on why the world has its eyes on Tucson, local news station KVOA highlighted why our city is at the forefront of the mining industry — and has been for centuries. In an interview with KVOA, MGE associate professor Angelina Anani discussed how the University of Arizona is helping Tucson stay on top of mining technology. 

Copper has brought miners to the Tucson area since before Arizona joined the Union. These days, Tucson is home to Caterpillar, Hexagon, Komatsu and other mining companies. Along with these companies, UA researchers have helped propel the industry.

"They created the first dispatch systems, they created the first GPS on trucks, they created computers that were actually put in trucks," Anani said.

In 2021, the Arizona State Legislature approved $4 million in yearly funding for the UA's new School of Mining and Mineral Resources, which will help UA serve as one of the primary pipelines to employment in the state’s mining sector. 

"We're expecting copper demand to increase dramatically. So by 2050, copper demand will probably be more than 200%," Anani said. "To be able to meet this demand, we have to look at the largest producers of copper, which in this case in the United States, we're looking at Arizona and we're looking at Tucson."