Phelps Dodge’s plans to open a new copper mine near Safford were given a boost with the release on Dec. 12 of a favorable Final Environmental Impact Statement by the Bureau of Land Management, and local officials and community leaders are smiling at the prospect of a spark to their area’s economy.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) still must issue its Record of Decision, which will detail its rulings on the mine’s site and operations as well as whether it approves a land exchange that will bring almost 37,000 acres under Phelps Dodge’s control. Even after the decision is issued, sometime in the spring, the mine will have many hurdles to overcome before operations can begin.

Meanwhile, civic leaders in and around the Graham County community are impatient for production to start on what is expected to be 3 billion pounds of finished copper over the 16-year life of the mine.

Safford Mayor Van Talley said the best thing about the mine will be its impact on local employment. Phelps Dodge expects a $9 million annual direct payroll — approximately 250 full-time workers with an average annual wage in excess of $36,000. The company also says 100 additional jobs will be created by businesses under contract with the mine, and an average of 275 indirect jobs will be generated. “This brings in an industry with good-paying jobs, so that our young people can stay here to look for work,” Mr. Talley said. “I anticipate we will be one of the fastest growing areas in the state.”

500 Jobs

Even before the mine begins operations, nearly 500 jobs will be created during construction, projected to take 15 to 18 months.

Construction cannot begin, however, until all final permit approvals are secured and the project withstands anticipated challenges from environmentalists and the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Phelps Dodge spokesman Peter Faur said the company is confident that the project will survive the protests. “Some challenges will be administrative and some judicial,” he said. “Depending on how timely they can be heard and dealt with by the proper jurisdictions, we are hopeful that construction can start within an 18-month window beginning in late 2005. That would mean actual copper production may not begin until as late as 2009.”

Land Exchange

Phelps Dodge has proposed trading 3,867 acres of environmentally sensitive land adjacent to national monuments and conservation areas in five regions around the state to the federal government for 16,297 acres within the mining project boundaries. The BLM is expected to approve the exchange when it issues its Record of Decision.

The exchanged lands would consolidate the company’s holdings in the Lone Star Mining District, which already total 20,000 acres. Officials in the area are supporting the land exchange because it would increase the amount of private land in Graham County to 8 per cent from 7 per cent – the remainder is federal, state, or Indian trust land.

This increase in the property tax base is good news for county Supervisor Jim Palmer. “Right now, we have the lowest assessed value of any county in the state. If the land exchange goes through, our assessed value in the county would almost double,” he said. “In terms of overall economic impact, the mine project will mean we can look at building a new jail, and we may even be able to lower the tax rate. Our schools have suffered over the last few years from a decline in population, so the new jobs the mine will bring in will help keep our school population up and, with more jobs being available when the kids graduate, the mine will help us keep our most precious resource – our children.”

At a press briefing in Safford on Dec. 11, the Safford mayor was asked whether he anticipates changes to the city as a result of the mine opening. “Growth is always a challenge to manage,” Mr. Talley said. “We have an obligation to manage growth without changing the basic character of the area.”

Referring to the fact that Phelps Dodge first announced it wanted to open a new mine and leaching facility at Safford almost 10 years ago, the mayor said the delay continues to be harmful to the community. “We floated bonds for infrastructure in anticipation of this project for things like the airport, wastewater treatment facilities, and a county hospital. Our ability to pay off the bonds depended on the economic benefits of the new mine.” Mr. Talley said.

Permit Process Can Be Lengthy

How soon economic benefits are likely to be felt depends on how smoothly the remainder of the permitting process proceeds. The economic impact process itself began with a draft that was published in 1998. Revisions were made in light of public comment, and the final economic impact statement now lays the groundwork for the remainder of the permitting process. The BLM decision is the next milestone for the project. It will announce the bureau’s decisions on whether the mine project can proceed and, if so, under what conditions.

After the decision is published, the public has 45 days to file protests for which the first level of adjudication is within the BLM and the Department of Interior. Parties may appeal further by filing suit in federal court. BLM spokesman Wayne King said the last land exchange between the BLM and Phelps Dodge was in 1999 in Morenci. The administrative appeals process was concluded in 2002, and the parties did not file suit in federal court.

The BLM is not the only government agency that must give a detailed approval before construction can begin. The Army Corps of Engineers must issue a permit in accordance with the Clean Water Act; the Environmental Protection Agency must look at air quality concerns; the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality becomes involved in a number of different ways; and the state mine inspector must approve reclamation procedures after the mine closes. In some cases, a regulatory agency’s decision initiates its own protest and appeals timetable.

According to Phelps Dodge, the Safford mine will process ore from two open pit areas – initially called Dos Pobres and San Juan – and produce 99.99 per cent pure copper plates for transport to the company’s rod plant in Miami, Ariz. It will use a process called solvent extraction/electrowinning, which involves first crushing the ore to half-inch gravel and moving it to a 922-acre leaching pad where sulfuric acid is added to dissolve soluble copper. The copper-laden solution is then pumped to an electrowinning tank where an electric current is passed through it, causing almost pure copper to be deposited on stainless steel cathodes. The copper is peeled from the stainless steel, which is itself reused, and the acid is recycled to the leaching pad.

Six thousand acre-feet of groundwater would be used annually by the mine, half of it to abate dust. An acre-foot is about 325,850 gallons. The impact of the use of that much groundwater has drawn the attention of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, whose reservation is to the north and west of the proposed mine. The tribe’s lawyer on water issues, Joe Sparks, said the tribe also is concerned about the effect of the mine on the Gila River, approximately seven miles south of the mine. According to studies done for Phelps Dodge, all groundwater will come from a geologically isolated aquifer, separated from the primary Gila River aquifer.

The tribe also is claiming that the site of much of the mine is within the historical boundaries of the reservation, although the BLM says the tribe settled its residual claims to aboriginal land in that area in 1972 for $4.9 million. —