Save the Scenic Santa Ritas

Fighting to protect the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains from the devastating impacts of mining.

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Copper


Copper and Recycling

Recycling is an important economic activity with significant environmental benefits.  Not only does recycling copper result in more efficient use of natural resources, it also results in energy savings and a reduction of waste sent to landfills.  Because copper can be reused, the wealth of this natural resource can be preserved for future generations.

People have put copper to use for over 10,000 years.  For all of these millennia, we have always taken advantage of copper’s recyclability.  The Colossus of Rhodes is said to have been made of copper.  No trace of it remains today since it was recycled centuries ago to make artifacts.  Copper implements and ornaments fashioned by ancient craftsmen have been reused time and again to make new implements and ornaments.

 

Copper Facts!

  • Copper is 100% recyclable and virtually all products made from copper can be recycled.
  • At least 80% of all copper ever mined is still in existence
  • Much of the copper used in the world comes from recycled sources.
  • Copper is recyclable at all stages of a product’s life cycle.
  • Copper-based products can last for decades: Roofing and other architectural copper products can last over 100 years.
  • Assuming an average life span of 30 years for most copper products, copper’s true recycling rate has been calculated to be about 80-85%.

Each year in the U.S.A., nearly as much copper is recovered from recycled material as is derived from newly mined ore.  Copper can be recycled without any loss of quality (chemical or physical properties). In some instances, recycled copper can be re-melted and used without further processing. Excluding wire production, most of which uses newly refined copper, more than three-fourths of the amount used by copper and brass mills, ingot makers, foundries, powder plants and other industries comes from recycled scrap.

Almost half of all recycled copper scrap is old post-consumer scrap, such as discarded electric cable, junked automobile radiators and air conditioners, or even ancient Egyptian plumbing. (Yes, it’s been around that long.)  The remainder is new scrap, such as chips and turnings from screw machine production.

 

Mineral Extraction Jobs are Unsustainable Jobs

Although copper is highly recyclable, it is a non-renewable natural resource, meaning that it is finite.  When an ore deposit is gone the jobs are gone, too.  In the 1980’s and 1990’s copper production in Arizona increased 50% while direct employment in the copper industry decreased by the same amount.  The copper industry is constantly investing in labor saving technology with the intent of cutting their most vulnerable cost variable: the production worker.  As production and labor productivity increase, industry profits soar.  As direct employment decreases, more of this profit leaves the communities which provide the natural resources and labor force.

A mine at Rosemont Ranch in the Santa Rita Mountains may provide about 400 jobs, some of which may last 10 to 20 years.  However, many of the jobs would be very short term as the mine moves through construction and operation phases of the mine. It is impossible to project the effects of increased labor productivity on mining employment two decades from now, but patterns suggest that employment will continue to drop in relation to production.

 

The Truth About Copper
Submitted by Marshall Magruder, June 28th, 2010 to the Arizona Daily Star

Dear Editor,

You article, “Rosemont stressing copper’s greenness” included a Rosemont Copper flier “How Rosemont Fits into the Green Economy.”  There are some corrections to Rosemont Copper’s position that need to be made.  

Rosemont says: “New transmission lines for renewable energy will require millions of tons of copper.” Transmission lines today use NO COPPER. Aluminum is used because it is lighter—requiring fewer poles, stronger because steel-reinforced, and cheaper. Aluminum, not copper, is most commonly used in powerlines to customers and in their homes and buildings.

Rosemont Copper’s line about “millions of tons of copper” is also a gross overstatement. According to the Copper Development Association, the total 2009 US copper production was 1,299,000 tons, much less than the “millions of tons.” Any new mine would not produce anywhere near “millions of tons,” nor is that much needed.

Further, the statement about solar photovoltaic panels, such as the girl in the ad is holding, is also misleading. Silicon is the primary resource in photovoltaic panels. The frames are aluminum.  Very little copper is used.

Turbines in coal, gas, and nuclear power plants are made of steel, not copper. The electric generators usually have copper wire around iron or steel magnetic material. This is true for any power source.

Let’s avoid false and erroneous statements. Rosemont Copper should retract their misleading, to say the least, statements.

Please see the Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers to verify that transmission; distribution and feeder lines and solar panels do NOT use copper.

Recent Posts

  • LENS ON THE LAND May 16, 2023
  • 1872 MINING LAW May 16, 2023
  • SENATE BILL FAVORS HUDBAY May 16, 2023
  • HUDBAY LEGACY May 16, 2023
  • “DIRTY MINING TRUMPS ALL OTHER USES” ACT May 8, 2023
  • See Our detailed letter to the Arizona State Land Department April 18, 2023
  • HUDBAY’S NEGATIVE IMPACTS TO ALL OUR BACKYARDS  April 18, 2023
  • Guardians of The Santa Ritas April 18, 2023
  • Pima County Urges Arizona State Land Department To Deny Hudbay’s Request To Purchase 200 Acres For Tailings And Rubble  April 11, 2023
  • Federal Memo May Bolster Hudbay’s Position on Rosemont Mine Site March 16, 2023

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COPPER MINE TOXINS

In this video Dr. Hart describes how copper mines fail to prevent toxins concentrated in tailing piles and ponds from polluting our air and water. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame

Copper Mines and Aquifers

Dr. Stanley Hart describes the impact of copper mining on underground aquifers, both how much groundwater is used and where it ends up. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame

Why Mine the Santa Ritas? – Dr. Stanley Hart

Dr. Stanley R. Hart, Scientist Emeritus at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, talks with a group from Save the Scenic Santa Ritas about the factors that are causing HudBay Corporation to pursue development of a large open pit mine (“Copper World”) in the Santa Rita Mountains near Sahuarita in southern Arizona. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame

Geology of the Santa Ritas — Dr. Stanley Hart

Dr. Stanley R. Hart talks with a group from Save the Scenic Santa Ritas about the geology of this Sky Island mountain range near Sahuarita in southern Arizona. Dr. Hart is Scientist Emeritus at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame

Rosemont/ Copper World Mine Complex News

LENS ON THE LAND

1872 MINING LAW

SENATE BILL FAVORS HUDBAY

HUDBAY LEGACY

“DIRTY MINING TRUMPS ALL OTHER USES” ACT

See Our detailed letter to the Arizona State Land Department

More Posts from this Category

Update on Lake Mead and Lake Powell water levels

Watch the April video update about Lake Mead, new water restrictions in Las Vegas, and news from Lake Powell.
WATCH NOW

Copper World Flyover January 6, 2023 by David Steele

Another shocking sight of the incredible destruction happening on our beautiful Santa Ritas.WATCH VIDEO NOW

Russ McSpadden’s recent fly-over showing mine activity

In Nov 2022 Russ captured recent bulldozing in the Santa Rita Mountains. His video starts over the Rosemont mine project on the east side and then swings over the Copper World project on the west side. WATCH VIDEO NOW

Explore the proposed Rosemont and Copper World projects virtually

Check out Pima County’s updated map of the proposed mine site. Click on any spot on the map for ownership/status information. Mapping details are based on Hudbay’s PEA dated May 1.

Proposed Rosemont/ Copper World Mine Complex

Image compilation of the area

LENS ON THE LAND

Sign the Petition

Please ask Commissioner Arizona State Land Department Ms. Robyn Sahid to deny request by Rosemont Copper Company for the department to sell at auction two noncontiguous parcels of State Trust land totaling 200 acres.

SIGN HERE

Recommended Reading List

Browse HERE over 30 titles of carefully selected books in various categories including: copper, water, mining, wilderness, exploration, and more. Your purchase supports the efforts of the SSSR

January 2023 Powerpoint Presentation

Click here to download (PDF)

Litigation Update

There have been two recent judicial rulings on the Rosemont Copper Company projects — one favorable and one unfavorable.

Click here to learn more

The latest on Hudbay’s Copper World project in the Santa Rita Mountains

Click here to download (PDF)

Where is the Rosemont/Copper World Mine Complex?

Click here for directions

HELP US PROTECT THE SANTA RITAS

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