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• Public open-house meetings on the proposed open-pit mine:
March 18 — 7-9 p.m., Pima Community College's Desert Vista Campus, 5901 S. Calle Santa Cruz, Tucson.
March 19 — 6:30-8:30 p.m., Canoa Hills Recreation Center, 3660 S. Camino del Sol, Green Valley.
March 20 — 6-8 p.m, Patagonia Union High School, Arizona 82, Patagonia.
• During an initial public comment period through April 18, agencies and individuals can submit comments by mail, fax or e-mail as follows:
To: Team Leader, Rosemont Copper Project, Coronado National Forest, 300 W. Congress St., Tucson, AZ 85701.
Or, fax comments to 388–8305, Attn: Rosemont team leader.
Or e-mail to comments-south western-coronado@fs.fed.us.
• Additional information about the proposed Rosemont Copper Project, including the notice of intent, is available online at: www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/ rosemont.

Tucson Region

Forest Service to weigh open-pit mine's impact

Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.13.2008
The U.S. Forest Service will look into the potential environmental and social impact of a mile-wide open-pit mine that a company proposes digging in the Santa Rita Mountains.
Notice of Coronado National Forest Service supervisor Jeanine Derby's intent to prepare an environmental impact statement on the Rosemont Copper Project will be published in the Federal Register.
The vast majority of the proposed open-pit copper mine would be dug by the Rosemont Copper Co., a subsidiary of Canadian-based Augusta Resource Corp., on public land 30 miles southeast of Tucson in the Santa Rita Mountains in southern Pima County.
The 4,755-acre Rosemont Copper Project would be built on 995 acres of private land, 3,670 acres of national forest, 15 acres of land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and 75 acres of state trust land, according to a Forest Service announcement of the impact statement.
The use of public lands for private mining is permitted by the Mining Act of 1872.
The environmental impact statement will be prepared by a Phoenix consultant, according to a statement by a spokeswoman for the Coronado National Forest, and paid for by the mining company.
The Santa Rita Mountains Conservation Coalition, a coalition of 10 conservation groups, has formed in opposition to the mine.
Concerns expressed by opponents include depletion and contamination of groundwater.
Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías said the Forest Service also should hold a public meeting in Vail.
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