Luckily enough, about 60 miles east of Phoenix sits Superior, Arizona, a small town that forms part of the Copper Triangle, as well as home to the third largest undeveloped copper deposit in the world. This area has been the site of some of the largest mining operations in the U.S. for over a century, and the discovery of a massive copper deposit located in Pinal County, Arizona is keeping the deep and historical roots of copper mining alive.
However, there are roadblocks standing in the way of our nation’s success, specifically an appeal in the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals regarding the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2013. The Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. With the land exchange, Resolution Copper mining will give up 5,300 acres of environmentally sensitive and culturally important lands to the United States so it can be deemed as federally protected along with 800 acres of a special management area, which will be enshrined as a significant Apache cultural site.
OpEd I live here-this mine is a disaster. The exchanged land is useless, much of it landlocked with no easement for access. McCain slipped the exchange in a must pass defense bill after it was defeated 2x. The area was set aside for recreation by 2 R presidents & should stay that way