Tuzigoot National Monument - Disturbed Lands

Turzigoot National Monument by National Parks Service

Tailings ponds below Tuzigoot Pueblo Skip Larson Visitors to Tuzigoot often inquire about the rust-colored area they drive through as they approach the hilltop pueblo. This desolate-looking area is the result of decades of deposition of tailing slurry from the copper smelting of the ore mined from the Jerome area. Jerome, the "billion-dollar copper camp", was the scene of copper mining from 1883 until the closing of the mines in 1953.

Originally overlooked by the Spaniards who explored the Verde Valley in the 1580's, the ore deposits would eventually yield billions of dollars in copper ore. The Clarkdale smelter started in operation in 1915 with the original plan calling for a slag dump covering 2 acres, and floatation tailings ponds covering 65 acres. The United Verde Copper Company started pumping slurry through miles of redwood pipes to the large tailings ponds located near Tuzigoot in 1927. Slurry continued to be deposited after Phelps Dodge acquired the mine and smelter in 1935. The toxic smoke and fumes from the smelting operation resulted in the deforestation of most of the large, woody vegetation in the surrounding areas and severely impacted the growing of crops by local farmers. The tailings pond was estimated to be 50 feet thick when smelting operations ceased in 1950 and covered an area of over 75 acres. In 1955, the University of Arizona analyzed the tailings. This analysis revealed the presence of "fine sand, pyrite, and heavy metals". The area was saturated with water to avoid wind-blown dust from the tailings. The area was diked and bermed to keep the water from infiltrating into the nearby Verde River.

Phelps Dodge Mining Company proposes to add a soil cover over the tailings to absorb rainfall, allowing it to evaporate or be used by plants through evapotranspiration. Placement of the soil cover could begin in 2005 or 2006 and take approximately 12 months to complete, at which time the area would be planted with vegetation.