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Rosemont Copper
Rosemont Copper was a proposed large open pit copper mine project owned by Hudbay. The project site is located within the Santa Rita Mountains and Coronado National Forest, in Pima County of southern Arizona. It has undergone a permitting review process under the direction of the United States Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and has been delayed by legal judgements and suspension of its operating permit by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The Rosemont Copper Mine site is approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Tucson. The nearest established communities are Sonoita, Patagonia, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Corona de Tucson, and Vail.
Opponents argue that the mine will pollute surface and subsurface water and damage aquifer quality and quantity, destroy natural habitats and endangering populations of vulnerable and unique wildlife, cause regional air pollution, and harm the local tourism industry.
Proponents argue that the project will create jobs, generate tax revenue and reduce American dependence on foreign sources of copper.
Following legal review of Rosemont's permits, on July 31, 2019, U.S. District Judge James Soto overturned the U.S. Forest Service's 2017 decision approving the mine and its 2013 final environmental impact statement clearing the way for that approval. On August 23, 2019, the US Army Corps of Engineers issued a letter to Rosemont Copper Company that immediately suspended its permit. In May 2022, the Ninth Circuit upheld District Court Judge Soto's order blocking the proposed mine on grounds of the 1872 Mining Law. The Ninth Circuit's decision was not appealed to the Supreme Court. The ruling affects other potential mines in the Ninth Circuit that may seek to dispose of waste on public lands under color of the 1872 Mining Law.
The Rosemont Copper property is located in Pima County, approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Tucson. It straddles two historic mining districts: the Rosemont Mining District and the adjacent Helvetia Mining District.
Copper became the focus of mining in the Santa Cruz Valley and elsewhere in Southern Arizona beginning in the late 1880s. By 1907, Southern Arizona led world copper production. Sporadic prospecting reportedly began in the northwestern portion of the Rosemont property, in the Helvetia Mining District, in the mid-1800s. Production from mines on both sides of the northern Santa Rita Mountains brought forth construction and operation of the Columbia Smelter at Helvetia on the west side of the Santa Rita Mountains and the Rosemont Smelter in the Rosemont Mining District on the east side of the Santa Rita Mountains.
Copper production ceased in 1951. In the decades since, the area continued to be the site of successive exploration efforts. In 1956, the American Exploration and Mining Company began exploring the Broadtop Butte prospect. Banner Mining Company acquired most of the claims in the area by the late 1950s. Anaconda Mining Company acquired the claims to the property in 1963 and undertook a major exploration campaign that identified the Rosemont deposit as a major porphyry copper ore body. The company also advanced the Broadtop Butte and Peach-Elgin prospects. The project continued after Amax and Anaconda formed the Anamax partnership and ceased in 1986 when Anamax sold the property to a real estate company during the dissolution of Anaconda. ASARCO purchased the property in 1988, renewed exploration of the Peach-Elgin prospect and initiated engineering studies. ASARCO sold the entire property to real estate interests in 2004. Augusta acquired the Rosemont Property in 2005. Hudbay acquired the property in 2014.
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Rosemont Copper
Rosemont Copper was a proposed large open pit copper mine project owned by Hudbay. The project site is located within the Santa Rita Mountains and Coronado National Forest, in Pima County of southern Arizona. It has undergone a permitting review process under the direction of the United States Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and has been delayed by legal judgements and suspension of its operating permit by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The Rosemont Copper Mine site is approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Tucson. The nearest established communities are Sonoita, Patagonia, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Corona de Tucson, and Vail.
Opponents argue that the mine will pollute surface and subsurface water and damage aquifer quality and quantity, destroy natural habitats and endangering populations of vulnerable and unique wildlife, cause regional air pollution, and harm the local tourism industry.
Proponents argue that the project will create jobs, generate tax revenue and reduce American dependence on foreign sources of copper.
Following legal review of Rosemont's permits, on July 31, 2019, U.S. District Judge James Soto overturned the U.S. Forest Service's 2017 decision approving the mine and its 2013 final environmental impact statement clearing the way for that approval. On August 23, 2019, the US Army Corps of Engineers issued a letter to Rosemont Copper Company that immediately suspended its permit. In May 2022, the Ninth Circuit upheld District Court Judge Soto's order blocking the proposed mine on grounds of the 1872 Mining Law. The Ninth Circuit's decision was not appealed to the Supreme Court. The ruling affects other potential mines in the Ninth Circuit that may seek to dispose of waste on public lands under color of the 1872 Mining Law.
The Rosemont Copper property is located in Pima County, approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Tucson. It straddles two historic mining districts: the Rosemont Mining District and the adjacent Helvetia Mining District.
Copper became the focus of mining in the Santa Cruz Valley and elsewhere in Southern Arizona beginning in the late 1880s. By 1907, Southern Arizona led world copper production. Sporadic prospecting reportedly began in the northwestern portion of the Rosemont property, in the Helvetia Mining District, in the mid-1800s. Production from mines on both sides of the northern Santa Rita Mountains brought forth construction and operation of the Columbia Smelter at Helvetia on the west side of the Santa Rita Mountains and the Rosemont Smelter in the Rosemont Mining District on the east side of the Santa Rita Mountains.
Copper production ceased in 1951. In the decades since, the area continued to be the site of successive exploration efforts. In 1956, the American Exploration and Mining Company began exploring the Broadtop Butte prospect. Banner Mining Company acquired most of the claims in the area by the late 1950s. Anaconda Mining Company acquired the claims to the property in 1963 and undertook a major exploration campaign that identified the Rosemont deposit as a major porphyry copper ore body. The company also advanced the Broadtop Butte and Peach-Elgin prospects. The project continued after Amax and Anaconda formed the Anamax partnership and ceased in 1986 when Anamax sold the property to a real estate company during the dissolution of Anaconda. ASARCO purchased the property in 1988, renewed exploration of the Peach-Elgin prospect and initiated engineering studies. ASARCO sold the entire property to real estate interests in 2004. Augusta acquired the Rosemont Property in 2005. Hudbay acquired the property in 2014.