City leaders, county officials and local advocates are stepping up their campaign to protect the Santa Rita Mountains, urging Gov. Katie Hobbs to block an April 29 auction of 160 acres of Arizona State Trust Land that Hudbay Minerals has requested for its proposed Copper World mine.
The Tucson City Council voted Tuesday to oppose the auction and directed Mayor Regina Romero to send a formal letter to the governor asking her to stop the sale. The council also approved preparing a city resolution that would formally oppose Copper World; the resolution is expected to be considered at the council’s May 5 meeting.
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, the local nonprofit coordinating opposition, welcomed Tucson’s decision. “This sends another clear message to the governor that Southern Arizona is strongly opposed to Copper World and wants her to stop the auction,” said SSSR Executive Director John Dougherty. He warned the project would “drain an aquifer to export copper overseas” and questioned selling the land now when Hudbay has reportedly said it would not need it for at least 15 years…