Arizona mining: $4.8 billion income, 52,100 jobs

The Arizona Mining Association reports that "Mining activity in 2012 generated $4.8 billion in total income for workers, business and property owners, and governments across Arizona, as well as, accounting for 12,100 direct jobs through the payrolls of mining companies. Indirectly, mining generated an additional 40,000 jobs through vendor purchases of mining companies, consumer spending of workers, and the spending of state and local governments out of new taxes," according to a
new study from Arizona State University (ASU) conducted by the L. William Seidman Research Institute, part of the W.P. Carey School of Business.   AMA says the study concludes that "copper mining is one of the top ten economic base industries in Arizona."

 "The average mining employee income in 2012 was $99,500 per employee which is twice the average labor income per worker in the state during the same time period,” said Kent Hill of the L. William Seidman Research Institute at ASU.

The report  further states that "Arizona mining companies and their employees pay three and a half times more taxes than does the average business in the state, according to the study, and found that mining companies paid $206 million in business tax to Arizona governments and their employees paid an estimated $93 million in individual taxes. That’s an average of $17,000 in business taxes per employee, compared to $3,000 average per worker paid by all businesses. Mining workers paid an average of $7,700 in individual taxes, compared with a statewide figure of $3,900 per employee for all other businesses."