On September 18, KJZZ Radio’s “Here and Now” program featured David Salisbury, President and CEO of Resolution Copper Mining (RCM). During the segment, David discussed the significant benefits of our proposed copper mine near Superior, while Roger Featherstone of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition raised several issues and questions about the project.
At Resolution Copper, we’re committed to listening to all of our stakeholders, and to addressing their concerns. We believe an open dialog is critical to our project, and will help us design it in a way that benefits and sustains Arizona’s economy, our community and our environment. With that in mind, we wanted to provide additional facts about the issues Mr. Featherstone raised.
The Oak Flat Campground
The Resolution Copper Project will deliver $46.4 billion in economic impact and more than 5,000 jobs to Arizona, and could supply more than 20 percent of the nation’s anticipated copper demand, which is rising as society embraces alternative energy and buys more products made from copper, including hybrid cars and wind turbines.
To complete studies on how to best design the mine to meet those goals, RCM needs access to the Oak Flat campground. The campground was included in a 1955 set of routine administrative actions that preclude us from working on the land while it is under public ownership.
We have proposed giving 5,500 acres of valuable land to the government in exchange for access to federal land. The company will also contribute $1 million to the relocation of Oak Flat campground, and will make the campground available to the public for as long as it is safe to do so.
What is included in the 5,500 acres?
We worked with the US Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, The Nature Conservancy, Audubon Arizona and other non-governmental organizations to ensure that the 5,500 acres of land offered in the proposed exchange will benefit the region environmentally, recreationally and economically. Benefits include protecting Cave Creek and its riparian corridor, the San Pedro River and its riparian corridor, prehistoric ruins, petroglyphs and agricultural sites, key water resources including a stock pond, native birds, fish and endangered species.
Why did RCM choose to go to Congress with a land exchange bill rather than working through an administrative exchange and its prerequisite process?
We cannot do an administrative exchange because our land exchange involves lands going to both the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Under federal law, only Congress can authorize an inter-agency land exchange.
Will RCM complete a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)?
The land exchange bill before Congress specifically requires that a NEPA EIS be completed before a mine can be built. We support this provision and are fully committed to completing the complete and thorough NEPA process. We are currently collecting data and information that will contribute to the NEPA EIS process. The current legislation enables us to fully access the ore body so that a General Plan of Operations can be completed in compliance with NEPA.
How many jobs will be created?
A 2008 third-party study conducted by Elliot D. Pollack and Company estimates that the project will create a total of 5,808 jobs and $305 million in annual wages. Of those, 1,200 company employees and 200 contract employees will work directly at the mine during peak operations. The remaining jobs will be created by service and support businesses. You can read a summary of the study here.
How many jobs are local and how many are given to out of state contractors?
Of the 291 employees and contractors working at RCM right now, 182 are Arizona residents, and 97 of those are from the Copper Triangle.
RCM is working with a few companies that bring specialties that do not yet exist in Arizona. We have strong local hiring preferences and are committed to a building an Arizona workforce. Through various education and scholarship programs, we are working to foster the skills necessary to build a workforce that will support our needs and allow us to hire locally.
How much subsidence is expected?
Because the ore body is located 7,000 feet below the surface, the project will be completely underground, eliminating open pits and many of the negative features of more traditional mining methods. While we do expect there to be some surface subsidence and cracking as the ground settles, our feasibility and environmental assessment work indicate the mass of the rock above the ore (avg. 6,000’) and its inherent strength will result in minimal subsidence. Instrumentation and technological systems will allow close monitoring of the subsidence. Our legislation ensures protection of Apache Leap, and our ultimate goal is to ensure there are no impacts to Devil’s Canyon or the mine’s shafts and facilities. View an animation of the proposed mine process here.
Thirty-nine Resolution Copper employees and family members Resolution Copper employees, friends and family members were responsible for construction of approximately one-half mile of new trail – the first section of the Legends of Superior Trail.
Resolution Copper is a strategic partner with the Arizona Trail Association. Every year, Resolution Copper employees and contractors volunteer to spend a day on the Arizona Trail. Time given is used to aid the non-profit Arizona Trail Association with trail construction or maintenance of an existing part of the trail. This year is our fourth Trail day and work undertaken consisted of trail construction in the Whitford Canyon area, north of the US 60 in the Superior area.