Save the Scenic Santa Ritas

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

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Culture

Three generations of the Wystrach Family
Mother Vicki (left) & Sister Pam at Santa Rita Abbey
Working cattle at the Empire Ranch (1890’s)
Ofelia Uva Rivas, Tohono O'odham tribal member, at the Rosemont site
Rancher Sarah Barchas
Tohono Oodham Elders
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“As a result of the mine, Ce:wi Duag (Santa Rita Mountains) will be forever degraded and our peoples’ traditions associated with this area will be lost forever. In my view the destruction of cultural sites and landscapes on this scale is nothing short of cultural genocide.”

— Dr. Ned Norris Jr., Chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation

The Cienega Valley and site of the proposed Rosemont Mine has been — and continues to be — a place where cultural identities and traditions are sustained. Prehistoric peoples used the mine site extensively. Recent archaeological investigations found 85 historic sites that would be directly or indirectly impacted by the mine and associated infrastructure.

According to the Tohono O’odham Legislative Council’s Resolution opposing the mine, “The proposed location of the Rosemont Copper Project is on the Nation’s ancestral lands and would signi cantly impact, destroy, or alter cultural and archeological sites containing numerous Archaic, Hohokam, and O’odham funeral objects, sacred objects and other archaeological and cultural items, as well as permanently alter the cultural and natural landscape of the area.”

A letter from the Tohono O’odham Cultural A airs Program in February, 2010, to then Forest Supervisor Jeanine Derby states, “The Santa Rita Mountains have been and are still used as a place for the Tohono O’odham to go to visit the sites of their ancestors, to collect basket-making materials, to collect plant medicines, to hunt and collect plant foods, and to visit shrines. If this mine development is allowed to move forward, the Tohono O’odham use of the area would no longer be possible.”

None of the 12 tribal nations and communities that were consulted on the project signed a mitigation agreement with the Forest Service under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

A key historical tradition of the Cienega Valley is ranching, an activity that remains important to this day. The grasslands of the Cienega Valley represent some of the best rangeland in Arizona, and many families in the valley rely on ranching for their livelihood and cultural identity. The exhibit introduces just a few of the ranchers working in the Cienega Valley south and east of the mine site.

Recent Posts

  • THE HOT TOPIC: WATER OR LACK THEREOF January 24, 2023
  • Hudbay ramps up excavation for Copper World Complex as local resistance continues and expands January 7, 2023
  • Meet The Man Who Shoots At Birds All Day To Keep Them Off A Toxic Pit | World Wide Waste (video) January 5, 2023
  • Lithium America Mine Project Hampered After Judge Schedules Hearing on Nevada Mine January 5, 2023
  • Thousands Will Live Here One Day (as Long as They Can Find Water) January 5, 2023
  • Latest Updates About Local Water Issues and Rosemont / Copper World Mine Complex January 5, 2023
  • Hudbay, Forest Service won’t appeal ruling blocking Rosemont Mine December 19, 2022
  • Letter: Proposed New Mines in Santa Ritas November 28, 2022
  • Wells are running dry in drought-weary Southwest as foreign-owned farms guzzle water to feed cattle overseas November 28, 2022
  • Annual pulses of copper-enriched sediment in a North American river downstream of a large lake following the catastrophic failure of a mine tailings storage facility November 28, 2022

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Rosemont/ Copper World Mine Complex News

THE HOT TOPIC: WATER OR LACK THEREOF

Hudbay ramps up excavation for Copper World Complex as local resistance continues and expands

Meet The Man Who Shoots At Birds All Day To Keep Them Off A Toxic Pit | World Wide Waste (video)

Lithium America Mine Project Hampered After Judge Schedules Hearing on Nevada Mine

More Posts from this Category

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

October 2022 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

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