The Santa Rita mountains are not just scenic, but sacred to some. The "snow-covered" mass just north of Madera Canyon and the mine tailings on the west side of Green Valley on up toward Tucson, are daily reminders of the fact we living in mining country. We breathe the air, we drink the water; we are at effect of what happens in our immediate environment, good or bad.
Juxtaposed to the majestic beauty of the Santa Ritas is the Freeport-McMoRan Sierrita facility, tucked deeply away at the end of Duval Mine Road behind “the swimming pool of the gods.” Though touted as one of the safest mines in the United States (having earned the federal government’s prestigious ‘Sentinels of Safety’ award), I have concerns that safety, in the case of open pit mining, is a relative term. Mining companies use toxic chemicals to extract all the goodies from the earth. The EPA has estimated that hard rock mining is the #1 source of pollution in the United States, contaminating some 40% of western watersheds. To their credit, Freeport-McMoRan has provided funding to clean up the excessive sulfates in our water supply. It supplies jobs and precious metals we consumers need to live the kind of lives we have grown accustomed to. And yes, it is the final resting place for the seemingly endless supply of dirt that has offered up the best it had to give. But at what price? It seems that Arizona’s mining rights trump human rights, most essentially, the right to preserve for future generations an environment and an ecosystem that once disrupted, can never be restored.
Enter Rosemont Copper: Arizona’s next major copper mine. Heaven help us. Busy mines, I mean minds, are at work. Augusta Resources (aka the Rosemont mine folks up in Canada) is issuing 25 million in stock to fund the mining operation. No problem for Canadians, most of them will never see the damage done. I wonder why it is that those who hold the pocketbook ultimately hold the power, for better or for worse. What about our reclamation plan? Can we reclaim, a priori, that which is slated for destruction? It’s just my opinion, but giving the green light to open-pit mining in areas that draw dollars through tourism and are home to humans, endangered animals, rare insects, birds, plants and myriad other life forms is short-sighted. We need to see past the end of the stick. Our mining laws are antiquated and changing them is a slow and arduous process. Arizona’s 135 year-old law allows mining operations right next to our national parks! Why few do anything about that may be a truer indicator of just how much we care about the planet and those who live on it.
