They're the last remnants of a Phelps Dodge copper smelter that closed in 2002 a victim of falling copper prices and advances in copper extraction.

A crew hired by Phelps Dodge on Wednesday flattened a 599-foot smokestack in the former smelter town of Playas in New Mexico's bootheel.

The smokestack was the last major relic of Phelps Dodge's Hidalgo copper smelter, which closed in 1999.

Journal reporter Susan Stiger will be on the scene. Look for updates.