Copper giant Freeport-McMoRan has for now put on hold plans to close its mining and mill operations in Green Valley this year, a move that would cost about 500 jobs.
A company spokesman said future decisions on the Sierrita Mine will be based on market conditions.
βSierrita continues to operate at the reduced rates implemented during 2015,β Freeport spokesman Eric Kinneberg said in an email.
βWe continue to carefully monitor operating results and market conditions and future decisions will be based on these factors. In the interim, employment is anticipated to remain at the current level of approximately 740.β
Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan said in December it would close its Sierrita Mine in Green Valley this year, as it cut spending to cope with falling oil and metals prices.
Sierrita employed more than 1,300 workers before Freeport announced last October it would immediately cut operations there in half, lay off 430 employees and consider closing the mine. That came after the company announced 130 job cuts at Sierrita in August.
At the start of this year, Freeport was the ninth-largest employer in Southern Arizona, with 5,530 employees in the region, the Star 200 survey showed.
Copper prices dipped below $2 per pound in January, or less than half its 2011 high, and has traded at a spot price below $2.30 per pound most of the year.
Copper prices had been on the upswing in the past week on signs of more demand from China. On Friday, following news of Britainβs exit from the European Union, spot copper fell 5 cents or more than 2 percent to $2.11 per pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
