Morenci is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,879 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area. The biggest employer in Morenci (and in nearby Clifton) is Freeport-McMoRan, the owner of the Morenci Mine, the largest copper mining operation in North America, and one of the largest copper mines in the world. The town was a site of the Arizona Copper Mine Strike of 1983. The large open-pit mine is north of the town.