Editing ASARCO

{{Short description|American integrated energy company}}
[[File:Asarco Mission Complex.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Headframe of an underground mine at the ASARCO Mission Complex near [[Tucson, Arizona]]]]
'''ASARCO''' (American Smelting and Refining Company) is a [[mining]], [[smelting]], and [[refining]] company based in [[Tucson, Arizona]], which mines and processes primarily [[copper]]. The company has been a subsidiary of [[Grupo México]] since 1999.

Its three largest [[Open-pit mining|open-pit mines]] are the Mission, Silver Bell and [[Ray mine|Ray]] mines in Arizona. Its mines produce {{convert|350,000,000|to|400,000,000|lb|sigfig=2}} of copper a year. ASARCO conducts [[solvent extraction and electrowinning]] at the Ray and Silver Bell mines in [[Pima County, Arizona]], and [[Pinal County, Arizona]], and operates a smelter in [[Hayden, Arizona]]. ASARCO's smelting plant in [[El Paso, Texas]], was suspended in 1999 and then demolished on April 13, 2013. Before closing, the plant produced {{convert|1,000,000,000|lb|sigfig=2}} of [[Anode#Electrolytic anode|anodes]] each year. Refining at the mines as well as at a copper refinery in [[Amarillo, Texas]], produce {{convert|375,000,000|lb|sigfig=2}} of refined copper each year.

ASARCO's hourly workers are primarily represented by the [[United Steelworkers]].

ASARCO has 20 [[superfund]] sites across the United States, and it is subject to considerable litigation over [[pollution]]. 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 [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) for cleanup at 26 sites around the country.<ref name="ASARCO">[http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/06/16/mining-company-pay-coeur-dalene-state-idaho-and-us-government-38602 ICTMN Staff, "Mining Company to Pay Coeur d’Alene, State of Idaho and U.S. Government"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20150818173005/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/06/16/mining-company-pay-coeur-dalene-state-idaho-and-us-government-38602 archived], ''Indian Country Today'' Media Network, 16 June 2011; accessed 2 June 2016</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Murray Smoke Stacks.jpg|thumb|ASARCO lead smelter in Murray, Utah; January 1, 1922]]

ASARCO was founded in 1888 as the American Smelting and Refining Company by [[Henry H. Rogers]], [[William Rockefeller]], [[Adolph Lewisohn]], Robert S. Towne, [[Anton Eilers]], and [[Leonard Lewisohn (philanthropist)|Leonard Lewisohn]]. From 1901 to 1959, American Smelting and Refining was included in the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]].

In April 1901, the [[Guggenheim family]] gained control of the company, and in 1905, bought the Tacoma smelter from the [[Bunker Hill Mining Company]]. ASARCO eventually controlled 90% of the U.S. lead production, essentially becoming a smelter [[trust (business)|trust]].<ref name="Aiken">{{cite book |last1=Aiken |first1=Katherine |title=Idaho's Bunker Hill: the rise and fall of a great mining company, 1885–1981 |date=15 January 2008 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman |isbn=978-0-8061-3898-5 |pages=65–67}}</ref>

On January 11, 1916, sixteen ASARCO employees [[Santa Isabel massacre|were killed and mutilated]] by [[Pancho Villa]]'s men near the town of [[Santa Isabel, Chihuahua]]. It was one of the incidents that sparked the [[Pancho Villa Expedition|Mexican Expedition]], a United States Army attempt to capture or kill Villa.

Based in [[Tucson, Arizona]], the company grew to conduct [[mining]], [[smelting]], and [[refining]] of primarily copper. [[Open-pit mining]] is primarily utilized as the most efficient method of recovering this metal; the company's three largest such works are the [[Copper mining in Arizona|Mission, Silver Bell, and the Ray mines]] in Arizona. The company had also operated in silver mining in Idaho. Its mines produce {{convert|350,000,000|to|400,000,000|lb|sigfig=2}} of copper a year.

ASARCO conducts [[solvent extraction and electrowinning]] at the Ray and Silver Bell mines in [[Pima County, Arizona]], and [[Pinal County, Arizona]], and operates a smelter in [[Hayden, Arizona]]. It also had a smelting plant in [[El Paso, Texas]], 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, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] in [[Corpus Christi, Texas|Corpus Christi]],<ref name="Newmont-Mining-Oct-2005-10-Q">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/2534/119312505211099/filing-main.htm |title=Newmont Mining, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Oct 28, 2005 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Jan 15, 2013}}</ref> [[Texas]] 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]].

== Pollution and environmental issues ==

[[File:ASARCO El Paso.jpg|right|thumb |These tall smokestacks at ASARCO's El Paso Smeltertown site were brought down in 2013.]]
[[File:Asarco Tacoma 1909 postcard.jpg|thumb|right|A 1909 postcard image of Tacoma with its ASARCO smelter smokestack]]

ASARCO has been found responsible for environmental pollution at 20 [[Superfund]] sites across the U.S. by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]]. Among those sites are:
#American Smelting and Refining Co., located in [[Omaha, Nebraska]]. Plant dissembled, remediation completed and site reused.<ref>[https://archive.epa.gov/region07/cleanup/npl-archive/web/pdf/omaha_final_sitewide_rev_2_april_2010.pdf "Final statewide sampling and analysis plan, Omaha lead site, Omaha, Nebraska"]. US EPA Region 7, April 2010. Retrieved January 23, 2020.</ref>
#Interstate Lead Company, or ILCO, labeled EPA Site ALD041906173, and located in [[Leeds, Alabama|Leeds]], [[Jefferson County, Alabama]]<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/Region4/waste/npl/nplal/ilcoal.htm ILCO] EPA. Retrieved 4/10/08.</ref>
#Argo Smelter, Omaha & Grant Smelter, labeled EPA Site COD002259588, and located at Vasquez Boulevard and [[I-70]] in [[Denver, Colorado]]<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/co/vbi70/  Argo Smelter, Omaha and Grant Smelter], EPA. Retrieved 4/10/08.</ref>
#"[[Smeltertown, Texas|Smeltertown]]", [[El Paso County, Texas]], where the copper plant's furnaces were illegally used to dispose of hazardous waste. The plant has since been dismantled.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122779177 El Paso Smelter Timeline], EPA. Retrieved 7/23/2012.</ref>
#California Gulch mine and river systems in [[Leadville, Colorado]];
#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, Denver|Globeville]], near South Platte River, Denver and Adams County, Colorado;
#Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical, [[Coeur d'Alene River]] Basin, Idaho;
#[[Kin-Buc Landfill]] in New Jersey;
#[[Tar Creek Superfund site|Tar Creek]] (Ottawa County) lead and zinc operations and surrounding residences in Oklahoma;
#[[Commencement Bay]], Near Shore/Tide Flats smelter, groundwater, and residences in Tacoma and Ruston, Washington.
#[[Everett Smelter]], Everett, Washington.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ecology.wa.gov/Spills-Cleanup/Contamination-cleanup/Cleanup-sites/Toxic-cleanup-sites/Everett-smelter | title=Everett Smelter – Washington State Department of Ecology }}</ref>
#[[Murray, Utah]] lead smelter operation, since reclaimed as part of EPA Superfund program and now the location of the [[Intermountain Medical Center]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.redevelop&id=0800697 | title=MURRAY SMELTER Site Profile }}</ref>

== Litigation history ==
[[File:ASARCO Silver Reef Utah.jpg|thumb|left|ASARCO mine in [[Silver Reef, Utah]]]]
After the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sued ASARCO for damages to natural resources in 1983, the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|EPA]] placed the ASARCO Globe Plant on its National Priorities List of Superfund sites, with ASARCO to pay for the site's cleanup.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/co/ASARCO/ ASARCO Globe Plant, Colorado]</ref>

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.<ref>[http://www.omahapubliclibrary.org/earlyomaha/buildings/american_smelting.html Early Omaha: Gateway to the West: "American Smelter and Refining Company"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927000622/http://www.omahapubliclibrary.org/earlyomaha/buildings/american_smelting.html |date=September 27, 2007 }} Omaha Public Library. Retrieved 2/3/08.</ref> After extensive site cleanup, the land was turned over to the [[Government of Omaha|City of Omaha]] as a {{convert|23|acre|m2|adj=on}} park. All of [[East Omaha]], comprising more than 8,000 acres (32&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), was declared a Superfund site. As of 2003, 290 acres (1.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) had been cleaned.<ref>(2003) [http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/nar1660.htm National Priorities List Site Narrative for Omaha Lead]. United States EPA. Retrieved 2/3/08.</ref>

In 1991 the [[Coeur d'Alene Tribe]] filed suit under [[CERCLA]] 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]] 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.<ref name="kramer">[http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/jun/14/hecla-mining-co-settles-superfund-cleanup-lawsuit/ Becky Kramer, "Hecla Mining Co. settles Superfund cleanup lawsuit"], ''The Spokesman,'' 14 June 2011; accessed 31 May 2016</ref><ref name="dojpress">[https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/hecla-mining-company-pay-263-million-settlement-resolve-idaho-superfund-site-litigation-and "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</ref> This was part of a nearly $2 billion settlement (see below) with the US for a total of 26 sites.<ref name="ASARCO" />

[[File:Smeltertown cemetery adapted from NARA 545363.jpg|right|thumb|The ASARCO smelter in El Paso, operating in 1972, viewed across the [[Smeltertown, Texas|Smeltertown]] cemetery]]

In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency released the results of soil and air tests in [[Hayden, Arizona]], 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]], 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..."<ref>[http://www.azdeq.gov/ Arizona Department of Environmental Quality]</ref> 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 [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) for cleanup at 26 sites around the country.<ref name="ASARCO" /> 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]], for which cleanup was set to start in 2010.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Burnett |first1=John |title=A Toxic Century: Mining Giant Must Clean Up Mess |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122779177 |access-date=11 January 2020 |publisher=NPR |date=February 4, 2010}}</ref>

== Documentary ==
ASARCO's [[Tar Creek Superfund site]] was the subject of the film documentary ''[[Tar Creek (film)|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 ==
*[[1913 El Paso smelters' strike]]
*[[List of Superfund sites in Alabama]]
*[[List of Superfund sites in Colorado]]
*[[List of Superfund sites in Illinois]]
*[[List of Superfund sites in Oklahoma]]
*[[Picher, Oklahoma]]
*[[Francis H. Brownell]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
*[http://www.asarco.com/ Official website]
*[http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/ASARCO-INCORPORATED-Company-History.html profile in International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 4. St. James Press, 1991 (via fundinguniverse.com)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040528184602/http://www.grupomexico.com/Html/AboutUsGM.htm Grupo México history]
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122779177 A Toxic Century: Mining Giant ASARCO Must Clean Up Mess : NPR 2010]
* [http://epgtlo.blogspot.com/2008/02/link-to-cnn-transcript-of-ASARCO-el.html Link to CNN transcript of the ASARCO El Paso Video 2008]
* Marilyn Berlin Snell, [http://www.sierraclub.org/utilities/printpage.asp?PATH=/sierra/200605/goingforbroke/&FILENAMES=page1.asp,page2.asp,page3.asp  "Going for Broke"] ''Sierra Club Magazine'', May/June 2006.
* Michael E. Ketterer, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100611123727/http://texas.sierraclub.org/air/ASARCO%20Report%20Summary.pdf 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, [http://archives.newspapertree.com/view_article.php?c=aa02784698ff4554&mc=ca37f0d359aa4a9b%20 Clean up or Cover Up?]{{dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} "The Texas Observer", 2004.
* [http://www.txpeer.org/toxictour/corpus_christi.html Corpus Christi's Refinery row] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010051228/http://www.txpeer.org/toxictour/corpus_christi.html |date=2006-10-10 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061110075538/http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcrights/9cheemp5.html Describes criminal conviction of an ASARCO supplier]
* [http://history.montgomeryco.com/History/tabid/604/ID/7/American-Zinc-Company-ASARCO.aspx ASARCO Taylor Springs Illinois] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150829102712/http://history.montgomeryco.com/History/tabid/604/ID/7/American-Zinc-Company-ASARCO.aspx |date=2015-08-29 }}, Historical Society of Montgomery County Illinois

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[[Category:Asarco| ]]
[[Category:Companies based in Tucson, Arizona]]
[[Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005]]
[[Category:Former components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average]]
[[Category:Metal companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Copper mining companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Smelting]]
[[Category:Superfund sites in Colorado]]
[[Category:Mines in Arizona]]
[[Category:Grupo México]]
[[Category:1888 establishments in Arizona Territory]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1888]]