Sustainable Water Source
Rosemont's approach to maintaining a sustainable water source includes:

• Water resources will be protected by avoiding impacts to the Davidson Canyon and Cienega Creek watershed, recycling production water within the plant and lining storage reservoirs to ensure that groundwater is not affected. Additionally, Central Arizona Project water is being purchased and stored in advance and by the end of 2007, a supply will have been collected sufficient to sustain the operation for three years.
• Augusta Resource, developer of Rosemont Copper, has signed a letter of intent with the Community Water Company of Green Valley to fund a CAP extension that could be delivering water to the Green Valley/Sahuarita area in as little as two years. The water delivery system plan includes a seven-mile extension of the CAP pipeline into the Water Company's service area and a water recharge facility in the Green Valley/Sahuarita area. The plan would enable Community Water to construct a water delivery system and bring much-needed recharge of CAP water into its service area many years sooner than would have otherwise been possible. Community Water will also make its unused CAP water allocation available to Augusta Resource for recharge in the Green Valley/Sahuarita area.

Concurrent Reclamation
The Rosemont Copper project is designed to incorporate progressive reclamation practices from the first year of mining activity. This has not been done in any other mine in Arizona. Highlights include:

• Vegetation - A research grant to the University of Arizona's School of Natural Resources will provide the basis for selection of optimal plant species, use of cattle in preparing the seedbed for re-vegetation and the construction of perimeter slopes to stabilize the soil. Upon beginning operations, the upper reaches of the pit will be seeded to encourage plant growth, thereby providing a visual break to the upper benches.
• Water - A water-conserving methodology known as dry-stack tailings will be used at the site to significantly reduce water usage issues. New water conservation and recycling techniques at Rosemont will save at least half of the total water used, as compared to traditional mining The modern tailings disposal system includes the construction of a thick waste rock shell to eliminate the possibility of storm water contamination and minimize the potential for downward migration of interstitial tailings water.
• Other considerations - Inert materials will be used for construction of the perimeter, drains and channel A grading fills.

Scenic Value Recognition
Significant planning has gone into the facility design and construction of Rosemont Copper, reducing its footprint to less than half the size of current mines in the Tucson area. The facility will be screened by perimeter buttresses to minimize the visual impact during both construction and operation and will not be visible from Green Valley, Vail, Sahuarita, Tubac or Tucson. The buttresses will both stabilize the soil and shield visual impact from state highway SR-83. Only a small portion of the final pit configuration will be visible from the highway.

Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP)
Rosemont Copper will incorporate the goals of the SDCP, including gifting conservation easements on more than 2,000 acres of private lands at the Rosemont Ranch. Mining facilities will be designed to stay within mixed-use designated areas and avoid, to the greatest extent possible, disturbing the biological core areas of the SDCP.

Community Endowment
A $25 million endowment will be created over the life of the mine and an additional $500,000 will be donated annually during operations to be used for the preservation of open space, mitigation of wildlife habitat and to meet other needs identified by the community. At the end of the estimated 20 years of production, Rosemont Copper will leave open space and conservation easements to the community in perpetuity. In addition, the project endowment funds will support local projects for generations to come, managed by a group of trustees from the local community.