YC to Bagdad: 2019

​As part of GEM Environmental’s GEM for STEM: Field Experience Program, we were able to take students from Yavapai College on a field trip to Freeport McMoRan’s Bagdad Mine in Bagdad, AZ. 

​On Friday, October 18th, 2019 the students from Cindy Smith’s Environmental Geology class, along with the students from Dr. Beth Boyd’s Intro to Geology class, were given the opportunity to be introduced to the processes involved in copper mining. They also were able to meet the industry professionals who make it all happen! 

​Bagdad is an open-pit copper and molybdenum mining complex that hides in the beautiful hills of Bagdad, AZ. The Bagdad operation consists of a 75,000 metric ton-per-day concentrator that produces copper and molybdenum concentrate, an SX/EW plant that can produce up to 32 million pounds per year of copper cathode from solution generated by low-grade stockpile leaching, and a pressure-leach plant to process molybdenum concentrate. This massive production helps Freeport McMoRan remain a leading international mining company, providing many STEM related jobs.

GEM is working to inspire a new generation of scientists by showing students firsthand, how the concepts they are learning in the classroom are applied to real life situations by companies like Freeport McMoRan at the Bagdad Mine. Students on the trip were given the opportunity to meet with industry professionals from a varying array of STEM careers to discuss what schooling they had to complete get to where they are and what processes they had to go through. It was our intent to show students the wide variety of well-paying jobs available to both degree and non-degree seeking students here in Yavapai County. 

This trip was provided with grant funding awarded to GEM by The Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County, through their Environmental and Sustainability Fund. For more information on how you can help fund future GEM Programs check out our Donate section at the top of the page.