Rosemont Copper expects to start construction in 2014

Rosemont Copper is in the final phase of a seven-year Environmental Impact Statement conducted by the U.S. Forest Service for a copper mining operation the company will be starting in the Santa Rita Mountains about 30 miles southeast of Tucson. Once the EIS public review and comment phase is completed and the forest service issues its final EIS, the Army Corps of Engineers will review the agency’s “Record of Decision,” the last stage in a series of permitting and approval processes that will make way for the mine’s construction. Rosemont expects to start the 32-month construction period in the second half of 2014. Newman anticipates the actual mining operation will start sometime during the first quarter of 2017. Rosemont will have a 21-year mine life and is expected to be the country’s third top copper producer. About 65 percent of the country’s copper is produced in Arizona, with Morenci in Greenlee County the largest copper mining operation in North America and one of the largest mines in the world, Newman said. A Freeport-McMoran owned mine, Morenci has been in operation for more than 100 years and is described by Newman as a “very well run mine.” Rosemont will be implementing water conservation and recycling technologies allowing 50 percent less water use than traditional mining practices, Newman said. “Rosemont is setting a new environmental standard, with reclamation starting on day one of the operation,” he said. In addition, the mine will include “dry-stack tailings” as part of its reclamation program, another process that greatly reduces water use. Screening berms are put in place, with topsoil removed and stored for later use. Processing areas will be reclaimed for ranching and wildlife purposes. Rosemont will be using LED lighting to minimize light pollution. From the time construction starts through the life of the mine, Newman says Rosemont will create some 4,200 jobs, 500 of those on the mine itself, with an average annual income of $59,000. The mine is expected to create more than $19 million annually in local tax revenue, or $404 million over the life of the operation...more