‘Harder to find’: Inside the growing global hunt for copper

By Camilla Hodgson – Financial Review

The metal lift clangs and rattles during its 10-minute journey down to “68 Level”, more than 2 kilometres beneath the scrubland near the Arizona town of Superior.

Its passengers step out into what feels like warm rain, thanks to water in the area between 68 Level and the surface. They wear hard hats, steel-capped boots and a one-piece suit with emergency breathing apparatus attached to it. “Stench”, a pungent gas, will be released into the complex as an evacuation signal in an emergency.