Bill 2 · Copper

We Produce the Wealth. We Deserve Our Share.

Arizona produces copper. It doesn't process copper. Morenci and Safford produce 99.99% pure copper cathode — then ship it out of state to become wire, cable, rod, and components. The value-add jobs leave with it.

The Extraction Math

Freeport-McMoRan made $22.9 billion in revenue in 2023. $1.9 billion in net income. Their CEO earned $23.9 million. Greenlee County — where they extract most of that value — has a 17.7% poverty rate.

Of every dollar of copper pulled from Arizona soil, about 6-7 cents stays in the community. The rest goes to shareholders in Phoenix and New York.

The Bill

The Mine to Wire & Chip Act has two parts. First, the Mining Community Investment Act raises Arizona's mining severance tax from 2.5% to 5% — generating an additional $135 million per year for extraction counties. That money goes to schools, roads, healthcare, and economic diversification.

Second, value-add manufacturing incentives create tax breaks for copper rod mills, wire drawing, and component manufacturing within 50 miles of extraction sites, plus workforce training partnerships with Eastern Arizona College.

Even at 5%, Arizona remains below Montana, New Mexico, and Nevada's severance tax rates.

The Model

Southwire built a $100 million copper rod mill in Carrollton, Georgia — a town that has to import cathode. We produce cathode. The economics favor local processing when someone creates the right conditions.

The History

Greenlee County voted Democratic from 1912 to 1996. Then Phelps Dodge broke the union in 1983-86 — brought in the National Guard, replaced workers with scabs. Union membership dropped from 8.8% to 3.7%.

The politics followed the economics. When workers lost power, the community lost wealth.

"I'm not anti-Freeport. I'm pro-Graham County. Those should be the same thing."