Save the Scenic Santa Ritas

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

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact
    • Board of Directors and Staff
    • Endorsements
    • Opposition and Resolutions
    • Volunteers and Friends
  • Background
    • Rosemont Mine
      • History
      • Impacts
        • Air Quality
        • Land Use
        • Wildlife and Habitat
        • Scenic Views
        • Heritage
        • Recreation
        • Economy
        • Water and Hydrology
    • Legislation
    • Copper
    • Patagonia Area Mines
  • In the News
  • Action
    • What Can I Do?
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
    • Join Mailing List
    • Endorse Us
    • SSSR Presentation
    • Show Your Support
    • Letter Writing
  • Events
    • Past Events
  • Resources
    • Visual Media
    • Links
    • Documents and Reports
    • 1872 Mining Law
    • Inspiration
  • Projects
    • Lens on the Land
      • Biodiversity
      • Culture
      • Economy: Industry, Tourism & Recreation
      • The Land
      • Night Sky and Astronomy
      • Water Resources
    • Rosemont Mine Truth
  • Newsletter

Arizona’s mining agency to shut down

January 20, 2011 By Administrator Leave a Comment


Arizona’s mining agency to shut down

Office out of money, its director says, but some resources may be shifted elsewhere

by Ryan Randazzo – Jan. 20, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

The state Department of Mines and Mineral Resources, which helps companies looking to dig for minerals in Arizona, will close Friday because it’s out of money, the director said Wednesday.

Gov. Jan Brewer has proposed moving its duties to the state Geological Survey when the new fiscal year begins in July, but the department with three employees and three contract workers doesn’t have the money to last that long after recent budget cuts, Director Madan Singh said.

“We would have needed supplemental funds to complete this fiscal year, and they’ve decided this is the time to close us down,” he said.

The department was created in 1939 to promote mining in Arizona, and last year, it provided 410 customers with information about mines and minerals in the state, according to the governor’s executive budget summary.

Turning its duties over to the Geological Survey will save the state $220,000 a year, according to the report. But the governor also proposes transferring $100,000 to the Geological Survey to digitize the department’s mineral records.

Downsizing of the Department of Mines and Mineral Resources began last summer when the Legislature transferred the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum from the department to the state Historical Society.

The museum is scheduled to close this summer and reopen as the Centennial Museum, although not in time for the actual state centennial celebration in February 2012.

The people who will lose their jobs when the department closes include Singh, a mining engineer who conducts economic analyses of the industry, and a clerk who helps with data inquiries. The department also has three contract workers, including one who visits schools to talk about the economic benefits of mining in Arizona.

The contract workers could be transferred to the Geological Survey, which might also have money to hire part of the staff, but “the situation is very fluid,” Singh said.

The department’s main duty is to help companies interested in mining in Arizona.

“The people that normally come to us are the smaller companies that don’t have a lot of information in their own files,” Singh said. “We tell them where some past deposits have been explored and help them dealing with various agencies like (the Department of Environmental Quality) and Water Resources.”

Singh said he is disappointed to leave his job of more than five years. “I think we were doing the state and the mining industry a service, especially the new (companies) coming in that would in the long run help the state,” he said. “They create jobs and produce minerals, which we need.”

The Governor’s Office did not respond to a request for comments Wednesday.

Some geology enthusiasts said the job cuts could hurt the industry. “The new mining people that come in won’t know how to access the (mining and mineral) records,” said Mardy Zimmerman, a retired teacher who is on the board of the Friends of the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum, a non-profit.

“The records will be in storage when our economy could really use the new mining jobs,” she said. “We have the richest copper deposits, and we are hindering the development and furthering of mining in our state.”

She also said the job cuts don’t bode well for the museum and its plans to close and reopen as the Centennial Museum.

Zimmerman helped develop a program to teach children about minerals at the museum, and she said that losing the Department of Mines and Mineral Resource employees and moving the museum to the Historical Society could take away the scientific focus at the museum.

Filed Under: Other mining news

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

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

Newsletter Sign-up

Sign up to receive important updates straight to your inbox! We will guard your privacy and will not provide your email to anyone else.

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

HELP US PROTECT THE SANTA RITAS

DONATE

Copyright © 2023 · Save the Scenic Santa Ritas