The supervisors had originally scheduled to debate the resolution at their Nov. 14 meeting but Supervisor Ray Carroll said the resolution is now planned for Dec. 5.
Opponents say the proposed open pit mine by Augusta Resource Corp., will wreck the land and consume too much water.
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The mine site is just west of State Route 82, south of Sahuarita Road.
Carroll introduced the resolution opposing the mine, but action was initially delayed to give the four other supervisors times to review it. This latest delay has come about at the request of Augusta, according to Carroll.
At a September meeting, Supervisor’s chair Sharon Bronson outlined some of the board’s concerns.
“We asked about multiple use, what about bankruptcy (and its effects on promises made by Augusta), lighting issues and dark skies, the effects on the Cienega watershed, migratory (wildlife) corridor issues and the water supply,” she said.
Bronson also asked if Augusta sells the property, would its promises be honored by the new owners?
At one time the land was owned by Asarco, which had considered mining it in the 1990s, but falling copper prices thwarted that idea.
Augusta has a five-year agreement to buy 10,000 acre-feet of water a year from Central Arizona Project to operate the mine. (An acre-foot of water is about 326,000 gallons.)
Augusta paid more than $20 million for its 2,960 acres next to Forest Service land and has a grazing lease that would provide it with 12,000 acres of a mining claim.
The mine’s name comes from Rosemont, a small community that had a post office from Sept. 27, 1894 to May 31, 1910. There had been a small copper mine there, but the town of about 150 abandoned the area when the mine failed.
E-mail comments for publicaiton to editor@azbiz.com. Contact Jim Lamb, a report for the Green Valley News at jlamb@gvnews.com or call (520) 547-9749.
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