GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — The proposed Copper World Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains is moving closer to operation after receiving an aquifer permit in August.
However, residents and environmental experts in the nearby community are voicing concerns about the potential risks the mine poses to public health and the environment.
The mine, owned by Canada-based Hudbay Minerals, is awaiting an air quality permit from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).
While the company plans to establish six open pits and a sulfur production plant over the next 15 years, residents are alarmed by the possible environmental impacts, particularly the health risks associated with dust and valley fever.
Charles Stack, an environmental scientist and mining consultant, bought a home in nearby Quail Creek in 2019. However, he and his wife decided to sell their home soon after they learned about the mine.
Stack expressed concern about the amount of dust the mine could produce.
“This mine with the unfinished road, Santa Rita Road, and some of the other construction activities, is likely to have a great deal of dust that will carry over in the wind onto our communities,” Stack said.
According to Stack, dust from mining activities isn't just a nuisance but poses real health risks. Stack highlighted the danger of PM 2.5 particles, which are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs.
More worrying, he said, is the risk of valley fever, a fungal infection caused by spores from Coccidioides fungi found in the soil. These spores can be carried by the wind, making areas around mining operations especially vulnerable. The Sonoran Desert is considered an endemic area for valley fever.
“I was just amazed that they wanted to build a copper mine 1,000 feet above the communities of the Green Valley area,” Stack said. “It basically means the pollution will flow down and be capped in.”
He stated that the median age of residents in Green Valley being about 72 years old is another area of worry. “One concern I’ve long had about a copper mine like this is the impact will it have on the very vulnerable, older adult population that live in communities like Quail Creek, where I lived.”
Stack insists that he’s not anti-mining in general and talked about his experience working with mines on adopting more environmentally-sustainable methods. He cites Florence Copper as an example of an Arizona mining company taking precautions to avoid negative environmental impacts.
John Murphy, a fellow Quail Creek resident and former research assistant at the Field Museum of Natural History, raised concerns about the damage caused by dust landing on plants in the area.
"That layer of dust actually inhibits the plants from carrying out as much photosynthesis as it normally would,” he said. “It’s an average of about 20% less, meaning that the environment is producing 20% less food for the animals that are depending on those plants.”
Murphy said that the sky islands, which include the Santa Rita Mountain range, are considered a biodiversity hotspot. These areas make up just 2.5% of the Earth’s surface, yet contain more than 50% of all vascular plants and 40% of all anthropods and vertebrates.
“I don’t understand why we are allowing people to mine in biodiversity hotspots,” Murphy said.
Dr. John Galgiani, director of the Valley Fever Center of Excellence, acknowledged that the blowing dust could increase valley fever risk if the fungus is present in the soil.
"If you disrupt the soil where the fungus lives, you probably are going to increase the number of spores that get into the air,” Galgiani noted. However, he added that not all desert areas are affected by the fungus. “In those cases, there is no risk at,” he said.
He cautioned that anyone living in Southern Arizona can be at risk for valley fever. "Yes, dust storms might increase the risk to some extent just like dusty roads might be increasing risks," he said. "But that seems to be strongly outweighed by the 365 days we live in Pima County and the risk day in and day out."
In response to the concerns over valley fever risks, a spokesperson for Hudbay Minerals provided the following statement:
Hudbay has applied for an air quality permit from ADEQ, a process that requires strict adherence to state and federal air quality standards designed to protect public health. ADEQ permit holders are highly regulated to ensure compliance with these standards through rigorous monitoring and reporting. In addition, Hudbay has voluntarily offered to collaborate with Pima County on dust control measures and has also secured a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) from the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) to perform maintenance on Santa Rita Road. Hudbay remains committed to protecting both people and the environment by implementing responsible and sustainable practices throughout the Copper World project.
Hudbay now awaits ADEQ's decision on the air quality permit, which will determine if the project can proceed.
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