Actually Augusta Resources, a Canadian company, started the permitting process for an open pit copper mine south of Tucson in 2005 or 2006. Stiff battles have been found because the mine would be in a residential area, in the Santa Rita mountains above this golf course.
Thankfully SIRG does not have even one of these problems.
This is a very popular area for people from Tucson and the nearby areas. Mount Hopkins Obersavatory can be seen on the top of Mt. Wrightson.
Read their PR and the shareholders are all giddy!
Rosemont has now received seven major permits required to commence construction.
Only one major permit is remaining, the Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit from
the US Army Corp of Engineers, which the Company expects to receive upon the
issuance of the Record of Decision ("ROD") on the Plan of Operations from the
U.S. Forest Service ("USFS").
Gil Clausen, Augusta's President and CEO said, "Having received one of the last
permits remaining represents a major achievement for the Rosemont Copper project
as we near the end of the permitting process and prepare for construction this
year. This success demonstrates our commitment to set high standards for
environmental protection by operating with enhanced emission controls that go
beyond regulatory requirements. Further, we would like to commend the ADEQ for
advancing the permitting process for the Air Quality Permit thoroughly,
professionally and expeditiously."
Here are the facts from those fighting those permits.
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For Immediate Release: Contact: Statement of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas on Rosemont Air Permit (Tucson, Ariz.) Below is the statement of Gayle Hartmann, President of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas (SSSR) regarding the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s (ADEQ’s) decision to issue the air quality permit for the proposed Rosemont Copper mine. Once again, Rosemont's PR spin has gotten ahead of the facts. According to their previous press releases, they should have already been mining and destroying the Santa Ritas years ago. ADEQ's approval of this permit is not surprising. This agency has been decimated by budget cuts, and is beholden to the regulated entities that pay the permitting fees to keep it afloat. We will closely examine this permit and determine our next steps including an appeal. (There are several retired lawyers in this group! LOL) This mine is far from a certainty. The Forest Service has indefinitely postponed completion of the environmental analysis of the Rosemont project and a decision on it . The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to include the mine site as critical habit for the endangered jaguar. There is indisputable photographic evidence that only known jaguar remaining in North America spends time near the proposed Rosemont project. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has seriously questioned the federal Clean Water Act permit that Rosemont needs to obtain from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. EPA has veto power over any Clean Water Act permit issued by the Corps. The bottom line is that this mine threatens our air, our mountains, along with the lives and livelihoods of those who live and work here. Rosemont thinks they can wear us down, but they underestimate our resilience. Of note: Augusta purchased two cattle ranches to gain the water rights. They have burned through $40M and recently got their loan extended ($43M). HY 83 is the only route from I-10 south of Tucson to Sonoita (wine country) and many lakes and rec areas. Rosemont traffic would destroy this 2 lane highway and create dangerous driving conditions hauling their equipment, supplies and ore. The officers of Augusta previously operated a gold mine in Sardinia, Italy. They left behind $20M of damage including a Cyanide laced very large pond above a town and farmfields. Here is a picture of the mess they left!
visit Dougherty’s Investigative Media website to learn more. Augusta Resource's Rosemont copper mine facing questions and mounting opposition FURTHER - Augusta needs approval from CONGRESS to use 3,000 acres of Coronado Forest Land for their tailing piles!
Congress has much more important issues to deal with!
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