Rosemont Copper Hosts Open House in Sierra Vista
SIERRA VISTA — Many area leaders in government and business gathered information about a copper mine that promises to provide much-needed jobs and economic stimulus to southern Arizona while minimizing its impact to the environment during an open house on Saturday.
Several Sierra Vista City Council members and Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Susan Tegmeyer were among those who attended the open house hosted by Rosemont Copperat the Windemere Hotel and Conference Center. They had an opportunity to bend the ears of top representatives from the mining company and many were impressed with the steps being taken to minimize the environmental impacts of a mine that is planned to be constructed on the east side of the Santa Rita Mountains between Sonoita and Interstate 10.
Though the site is located in Pima County, a study by Arizona State University indicates that the mine will lead to significant economic benefits for Santa Cruz County and Cochise County, as well. The study reports that Rosemont Copper will stimulate a total of $15 billion in new economic output to the region over the life of the mine, which is 20 to 25 years.
That includes supporting an average of 2,100 jobs each year, of which more than 400 will be directly related to the operation of the mine. The remaining jobs will be created indirectly in a variety of areas, including health care and education, with service-oriented jobs showing the most potential growth.
Fort Huachuca provides an economic benefit not just to Sierra Vista but to all of southeast Arizona, and Sierra Vista City Council member Tom Crosby expects the Rosemont Copper project will be similar in this regard, he said. Crosby firmly supports the mine, but understands there is no way to mine copper without having some impact on the environment.
“So long as they minimize it, that’s doing the best they can do,” Crosby said. The way he sees it, Rosemont Copper’s plan will provide a huge economic benefit with minimal impact to the environment.
The economic impact of the project is very clear, but council member Tom Reardon is still concerned about the environmental reclamation process, though laws have started to put much more emphasis on reclamation, he said. “I want to make sure that’s part of the equation and it sounds like, to me, it is.”
Reardon is cautiously optimistic about the project, but is still maintaining an open mind as he plans to continue discussions on this issue and continue learning everything he can, he said. “They talked to me more about (the environmental impact) than they did the jobs. I think they are very aware of the sensitivity here to our fragile environment. It appears to me they have an excellent view of all the issues we have to deal with here.”
Water, of course, is at the top of the list of local concerns.
Though the mine will use groundwater pumped from the aquifer, it will require much less than traditional mines and Central Arizona Project water will be recharged into the aquifer through retention basins to offset the impact of pumping, Vice President of Sustainability Development Jamie Sturgess said. Though some water will be lost through evaporation, the company only gets credit for what reaches the aquifer and promises to balance out the mine’s impact on the aquifer.
Literature provided by Rosemont Copper states the mine’s footprint will cover 4,440 acres, which is less than half the area of some other mines in Pima County.
They have six alternative plans for how rock and dirt is distributed around the mine, and the U.S. Forest Service will ultimately decide what plan or combination of plans the company will use, Sturgess said. After four years, the company is nearing the end of the Forest Service permitting process and hopes to start construction next year. Once construction starts, the mine should be fully operational within 12 to 18 months.
Generally, Rosemont Copper has gathered information from mining operations around the world to make sure it uses the best tools, designs and concepts currently available, Sturgess said. “We’ve known right from the get-go that we had to have the best approach and the best way to communicate it so people would allow us to open a new mine.”
Sturgess believes that the future of the industry depends on developing a repeatable mine, he said. “If our industry can’t be allowed to open new mines, then our society is going to cease to exist or change.”
Copper is one of the most recycled metals and is relied upon to produce many alternative energy sources, ranging from wind turbines and solar panels to hybrid cars, according to literature from Rosemont.
The importance copper plays in our daily lives was a major factor in the thought process of one local environmentalist who now supports the project after initially opposing the idea.
Marcia Devere is a member of the White Mountain Conservation League and volunteers for three other local environmental groups. When she first thought about a mine located in an area where she hikes and bird watches, her reaction was, “Heck, no.”
But she came to the open house in a car, uses electricity and probably more copper than most of the people on the planet because of this country’s lifestyle, Devere said. “So my dilemma was, if I use this and expect the mines to go elsewhere in the third world where they don’t have these modern techniques, it’s going to make much more of a scar on our planet in other places. Plus, we send our economic base out.”
After taking a tour of the mining site, Devere felt much better about the project and recommends the tour to anyone who is interested.
“They are really impressive with their steps for the environment,” Devere said. She has also noticed that mines often make great neighbors as they contribute to area schools and youth programs.
Part of Rosemont Copper’s plan is to establish a $25 million community endowment to protect open space.
The United States is already heavily dependent on foreign oil and Devere thinks the consequences of relying on foreign minerals and metals like copper would have dire consequences.
“We need our industrial base, otherwise our country is not going to be worth a hoot,” she said.
