Forest Service approves operating plan for Rosemont Mine

The proposed Rosemont Mine cleared its last major administrative hurdle when the U.S. Forest Service approved a proposed operating plan for the project. Hudbay Minerals Inc. announced Thursday that the Forest Service has sent it a copy of an approved Mine Plan of Operations. The plan is supposed to lay out how the company plans to operate the $1.9 billion project to remove copper and other minerals from an open pit on the eastern slope of the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson. The Forest Service will post the approved mining plan on its rosemonteis.us website no later than Friday, said Heidi Schewel, a Coronado National Forest spokeswoman. The mine, when completed, is expected to pull 112,000 tons of copper concentrate from the ground every year. It's supposed to operate for close to 20 years before shutting down and create more than 500 full-time jobs...MORE