Forest Service recommends Rosemont Mine be approved

The U.S. Forest Service is recommending a different mining plan for the Rosemont Mine as its preferred alternative, versus Rosemont Copper's preference, its new draft environmental impact statement says. The agency prefers what is called the Barrel Alternative, which would put all the tailings and waste rock from the open-pit mine in Upper Barrel Canyon and a lower portion of Wasp Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson, "and permanently avoids placement of mine waste in McCleary Canyon." Those canyons are part of the drainage system for Davidson Canyon, a tributary to Cienega Creek, one of the last remaining perennial streams in the Tucson area. A tradeoff for that change appears to put waste rock closer to scenic Arizona 83, known as the Sonoita Highway, than the mining company's plan would, maps indicate...more