A new report by Bradley Van Gosen of the USGS documents 103 locations of naturally-occurring asbestos sites in Arizona, of which 96 are chrysotile asbestos in Gila and Pinal counties. [right: AZ portion of USGS OFR-08-1095]A reported 75,000 tons of asbestos minerals were mined in the Salt River region of Gila County. Mining ende
d in 1982.Van Gosen writes that asbestos was discovered in 1872 at the town of Chrysotile. Of the 46 a
sbestos mines in Arizona, 44 were in Gila Co. The other two were small producers in the early 1900s in what is now the Grand Canyon.