Hermosa aims to set the standard for sustainable mining.
“We’ve designed this as a very small footprint mine, so it’s an underground mining method that minimizes disturbance of the total surface area of less than 600 acres to mine both of these resources.” Listener said.
The project is designed to be the United States’ first net-zero mining operation and first dry deposition tailings facility. Part of it is a low-moisture multi-layer liner system that supplies excess water to the water treatment plant.
Rizner said the project will also benefit the Santa Cruz County community. The county meets the criteria of the FAST-41 program (Obama-era American Ground Transportation Act Amendments (FAST Act)), which aims to create a more transparent and timely process. critical infrastructure projects.
NEPA must meet the $200 million investment threshold.
“Last year we announced an initial investment of about $1.7 billion to get the first production going, which is about eight times our largest investment to date in Santa Cruz County,” Lissner said.
The project will create approximately 2,500 jobs in the county.
“That equates to almost $200 million in new labor income a year. If you look at it, $200 million a year is about 16% of total labor income in the county today,” Lisner said. Told.
Despite the promise of economic stimulus, local environmental groups are concerned about the project.
Observers have questioned the project’s proximity to the vulnerable ecosystems of the Patagonian Islands. The Patagonian Islands have more than 100 federally threatened, endangered, and sensitive species in the region.
The range is known as a wildlife corridor, and jaguars and ocelots have been spotted traveling to and from Sonora, Mexico. It is an area with vast biodiversity.
Carolyn Shaffer, president of the Patagonian Regional Resources Alliance (PARA), said the group formed in 2011 in response to an announcement by the former owner of the Hermosa project about resuming mining in Patagonia. She has been on the board since her 2012.
The main task of grassroots organizations is to preserve and protect mountains and everything that inhabits them.
“The Patagonia Mountains have been mined historically for 100 years, but that mining is dramatically different from the mining proposed today,” Schaefer said.
For the first ten years of PARA’s existence, members “dealed” with Arizona Mining, the exploration company that was developing the Hermosa Project.
In 2018, the mine was acquired by South32 in a record deal of over $2 billion.
Schaefer, who has lived in the area for 26 years, said he was worried about groundwater.
