County supervisors unanimously oppose Santa Rita mine
By Tim Hull, Inside Tucson Business
Published on Friday, January 19, 2007
The Pima County Board of Supervisors sent a strong message to the extraction industry last week unanimously opposing plans for an open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains, southeast of Tucson.
Though the resolution doesn’t derail Canadian firm Augusta Resource Corp.’s plans to mine the Rosemont Ranch area, it could serve as the opening salvo in what promises to be several years of wrangling and protest.
“Ultimately, it may be a federal court that decides whether a permit is granted to Rosemont Mine,” said Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry during a packed supervisors meeting Jan. 16.
The resolution, originally proposed by Republican Supervisor Ray Carroll, was altered slightly before being adopted.
The supervisors agreed they wanted to pursue an effort through Congress to withdraw all public U.S. Forest Service lands in the Nogales Ranger District from consideration for mining exploration. The area generally includes the Tumacacori, Santa Rita, Whetstone, Huachuca, and Patagonia mountain ranges
Security workers said the crowd wanting to get into the county supervisors’ hearing room was the largest they had ever seen for a meeting. The line snaked through the lobby of the county building.
“The recreation value of this pristine area will be permanently diminished, if not destroyed, by this proposed project,” said Tom Ward, an economic development specialist and volunteer with the Green Valley Community Coordinating Council, speaking of behalf of 19 homeowners associations. “The pleasures of hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, bird watching, etc., now enjoyed by our citizens, is not compatible with a copper mine.”
Augusta Resource Corp. brought a contingent of its own, including more than a dozen people wearing shirts which were printed with “I want one of 350 jobs at the mine,” referring to the job creation Augusta has promised will be part of the project.
Augusta CEO Gil Clausen urged the supervisors to hold off on the resolution. He said the comprehensive Plan of Operations for the proposed mine won’t be finished for at least two to three months.
“We are asking that you give us a neutral review,” Clausen said. “Wait till it’s all done.”
As more than 3,000 acres of nearby Coronado National Forest Service land is essential to the project, the U.S. Forest Service must still sign-off on Augusta’s plans.
Augusta has said that it’s a new kind of mining company, promising less impact on public lands, dry tailing, water conservation, and a robust reclamation program.
“We know the old ways won’t be approved,” said Jaime Sturgess, Augusta’s vice president for projects and the environment. This will be a mine “that meets new challenges and the new expectations of the community.”
While Supervisor Ann Day, a Republican, lauded Augusta for its new approach to extraction, she said the impact of copper mining in this region has “left a bad taste in our mouths.”
“Augusta has tried very hard to address the sins of the past,” Day added. “But it’s a new day.”
E-mail comments for publication to editor@azbiz.com. Contact Tim Hull at the Green Valley News by e-mail at thull@gvnews.com.
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