COTTONWOOD — In stark contrast to the salmon and cream-colored cliffs framing the Verde Valley, a black mountain of iron and glass rises out of the heart of this city.
Covering an area roughly the size of 15 football fields and composed of an estimated 3 million tons of copper mining waste, the slag pile has been a staple of the local landscape since World War I, but it will soon be a thing of the past.
With a Tucson-based company scheduled to start crushing and hauling out the material in about 18 months, Jim Van Wert, owner of a mineral and collectible shop on Main Street, said he'd like the pile to stay where it is.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Van Wert said. "I think it has historic significance. It's the last visual reminder of our mining heritage. That slag pile represents what went on for many, many years not only in the Verde Valley, but all over the state."
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Other Arizona cities, such as neighboring Clarkdale and Ajo, west of Tucson, are already seeing similar slag-removal projects on larger scales. The situation here is different in that the pile is in the center of town, a result of Cottonwood's growing out from the location of the Clemenceau mine, where copper smelting operations were conducted from 1918 to 1936.
Brett Markman, a Cottonwood resident for the past 13 years, said the slag hearkens back to an earlier time that shouldn't be forgotten.
"It's all about progress," Markman said. "I don't think we should completely get rid of it. I think there's some way to preserve the past yet still move on."
For months, citizens and the City Council debated the slag pile's future. Residents expressed concerns about possible toxins and dust released by crushing the material and the effect of noise from trucks hauling it away.
On March 17, the city's Planning and Zoning Commission approved an agreement between Minerals Research and Recovery and the private owner of the pile for its removal. The project is expected to take the next 15 to 20 years to complete and cost the company an estimated $8 million. The firm intends to produce shingles and asphalt from the material and sell the rest to contractors that produce blasting charges for the military.
Cottonwood Mayor Diane Joens said public opinion about the removal project was divided 50-50 but that the whole city will benefit in the long run.
"We're doing the environmentally good thing," she said. "I see value in recycling materials that are already there. It's just a good stewardship of resources."
About 125 residents attended the last public meeting on the issue in early March, a large showing for this community of 10,000 people. Supporters and opponents were equally divided, according to George Gehlert, the city's community-development director.
"There's some longtime residents that view the slag pile as a sort of historic relic," Gehlert said.
The City Council is expected to give the project final approval next week.
Newman Parker, a resident of the city for almost 50 years, said he and his brother used to get cut sliding on the pile's sharp rocks as children. Memories aside, he thinks it's time to say goodbye to his old playground.
"I think they ought to take it out," Parker said. "It's an eyesore."
