Discovering the Splendor of SLAG

A pile of slag remaining from copper smelting operations of 1930s Cottonwood, Arizona is one area of focus for Minerals Research, Inc. (MRI), the company pursuing a 15-20 year process to remove the pile using innovative recovery technology.

- REBECCA SOLON

Since 1980, MRI has created various mineral products for industrial use from the mining, processing and marketing of a mountain of slag scrap. Recycling applications include a spectrum of industries in commercial and military markets overseas and in Mexico. The company’s domestic ventures extend to the Gulf Coast, where MRI is a major supplier of iron silicate abrasives for high-pressure underwater cutting operations using waterjet technology in various decommissioning and abandonment projects. In California, MRI helped pioneer the recycling of spent abrasives in the manufacture of a Portland cement clinker. Sandblasting and waterjet abrasives are also sent to naval bases in Guam and Japan.

Leading up to the City of Cottonwood Planning and Zoning Commission’s approval of a 2008 agreement with MRI to remove the slag pile, the opinions of Cottonwood citizens were divided. Site Operations Manager Tom Hurkett said the feedback MRI received from the community was very positive and significantly higher than what had been reported in local news reports.

Within the news coverage, there were comments for and against the reclamation of the slag pile. Some cited the historical significance of the pile as an indication of the area’s mining heritage, while other opinions favored the benefits of recycling slag.