By KRWG News
New Mexico – With copper prices high and backing in place from some of the world's largest mining companies, the hunt for the ore in the American Southwest is experiencing a revival.
Mining operations are ramping up in Arizona and hundreds of jobs are up for grabs from Morenci to Safford.
It's a similar situation in southwestern New Mexico, where the Chino mine has restarted its mining and milling operations after two years.
And now in the hills of Sierra County, a new company plans to reopen a mine that has been shuttered for nearly three decades.
The president of New Mexico Copper Corp., Ann Carpenter, says the time is right.
The company has started the permitting process. If approved, the operation could mean 500 construction jobs and another 200 mining jobs.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.