Pima County again tries to block Rosemont Mine

For the second time in little more than a month the Pima County supervisors approved a resolution aimed at blocking development of a copper mine east of Green Valley.

At Tuesday’s board meeting the supervisors unanimously approved the resolution calling on the Arizona congressional delegation to take three steps to block the mine at Rosemont east of the Santa Rita Mountains.

The resolution asked congressional delegates to bar mining on National Forest Land in the Santa Rita Mountains, to withdraw from mining from all National Forest Lands in Pima County and to stop mining on all “county natural reserves where the federal government” owns the mining rights.

On Jan. 16 the supervisors approved a resolution by Supervisor Ray Carroll to oppose creation of a mine by Augusta Resource Corp.

The county has also asked the U.S. Forest Service to stop the company from dumping mine waste on forest land if there’s no financial gain from that action.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry told the supervisors there’s about 35,000 acres used for mines in the county and much of it hasn’t been reclaimed.

Pima County would apparently pay for much of the mitigation on abandoned mining properties.

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