Sep 29, 2026 · 1 hr 7 min · 12 segments
Les Presmyk talks about mining in Arizona and what it means to be the State Mine Inspector. Hear about his background working in the mines over the last several decades, as an engineer for SRP, as a…
Les PresmykGuestJessicaHostWhat's your favorite mineral? Do you have
one? So Arizona is blessed because of its mineral riches, both from a mining standpoint, and we'll probably get into that a little bit later, but especially for its minerals and mineral specimens.
And But then the other two are copper minerals, azurite and malachite, and most people are familiar with those.
In fact, more of a blue like the panel behind you or like the flag than a sky blue like we associate with chrysocolla and turquoise.
And malachite is the green mineral, and they're very close chemically and They're almost always associated with one another.
So why did wolfenite or whatever become the state mineral?
Because we like the name.
It's cool.
Well, it was named after an Austrian monk back from 150 years ago that discovered it in Austria.
From a state standpoint, because I've had several people ask me this, you know, azurite and malachite would probably have been the best choice, it being a copper state, because native copper is our state metal.
But from a mineral collecting standpoint, Arizona is as famous or more so for its wolfenite localities and the specimens.
And there's no other area the size of Arizona that has that many world class wolfenite localities.
What's your favorite mineral? Do you have
one? So Arizona is blessed because of its mineral riches, both from a mining standpoint, and we'll probably get into that a little bit later, but especially for its minerals and mineral specimens.
And But then the other two are copper minerals, azurite and malachite, and most people are familiar with those.
In fact, more of a blue like the panel behind you or like the flag than a sky blue like we associate with chrysocolla and turquoise.
And malachite is the green mineral, and they're very close chemically and They're almost always associated with one another.
So why did wolfenite or whatever become the state mineral?
Because we like the name.
It's cool.
Well, it was named after an Austrian monk back from 150 years ago that discovered it in Austria.
From a state standpoint, because I've had several people ask me this, you know, azurite and malachite would probably have been the best choice, it being a copper state, because native copper is our state metal.
But from a mineral collecting standpoint, Arizona is as famous or more so for its wolfenite localities and the specimens.
And there's no other area the size of Arizona that has that many world class wolfenite localities.
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