ARIZONA, USA — Mining was the backbone of Arizona for decades, and its legacy runs deep in our state... Literally. Scores of abandoned mines can be found across Arizona and in their emptiness, they've become a hazard.
Currently, there are around 100,000 abandoned mines in Arizona, and not all of them have been fenced off. But action is being taken to keep people safe.
In 2023, Arizona's mine inspector’s office secured nearly 100 abandoned mines across the state, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
“We have an estimated 100,000 abandoned mines, and the state mine inspector’s office has only cataloged about 10,000 of those since about the 1980s,” said Paul Marsh, the Arizona state mine inspector.
Marsh said one of the main reasons we became a state was because of our mineral resources.
“We’re known as the 'Copper State,' so there are a lot of copper mines out there,” Marsh said.
“Think back gold and silver rushes, there were a lot of prospectors that came in, started mining… and when they stopped finding ore, they just walked away and left the mines there abandoned.”
Today, many of those mines remain abandoned. Some are deeper than others, posing dangers.
“They are incredibly dangerous,” said Marsh. “Some of these mineshafts are incredibly deep.”
“We’ve looked at a couple just recently, that are 120, 130, almost 200 feet deep,” he said. “And there’s no warning around them.”
One of the biggest concerns about abandoned mines is people’s curiosity.
“They want to go in, they want to look,” said Marsh. “Not all of them are just shafts, there’s a lot of portals that look like a cave… they look like they’d be fun, but there are also false floors in those, so there could be a shaft inside of those."
Marsh said the mines can also be home to wildlife like bats, snakes and mountain lions.
Another concern is toxins in the mines, according to Marsh.
Right now, his office is working to secure abandoned mines with signage. They want to raise awareness and at the same time ask for the community’s help.
“The best thing to do is stay out and stay away from it, and if you could, note the coordinates on your phone,” said Marsh. “Drop a pin on your phone, and then you can go to the state mine inspector’s website."
On that website, you can report an abandoned mine and start the process to get it fully secured.
“So far this year, we’ve already looked at 90 mines,” he said. “22 of those are new mines that weren’t in our current database.”
Marsh’s team is now working to create long-term plans for a more permanent solution.
As part of the process, they are looking at input from a number of agencies, including Arizona Game and Fish, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Arizona State Trust Land and Arizona State Parks, as well as Arizona mining companies.
With the input from those agencies, they are hoping to learn more about their abandoned mine closure techniques.
“As we build this new team up… we’ll actually do more permanent closures, such as foam filling, completely filling them up with dirt and other materials, or using some mesh that we have,” said Marsh.
Marsh said it’s all being done to keep people out of harm’s way.
So, remember, if you come across an abandoned mine, stay out, stay alive.
Click here for more information or to report an abandoned mine.
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