The Morenci Mine, located in southeastern Arizona, is one of the largest copper mines in North America and among the biggest open-pit operations in the world. Its history dates back to the 1870s, when prospectors first discovered copper in the rugged mountains near Clifton. Now operated by Freeport-McMoRan, Morenci produces hundreds of thousands of tons of copper annually through a combination of open-pit mining and leaching processes. The mine’s vast terraced pits, stretching several miles acro