The following story ran in the January 8, 2010 edition of the Nogales International.  The report referenced in the story was written for the mining company and points out what opponents have been saying all along:  This is the wrong place for a mine.  it's hard to even imagine what the Santa Rita's would look like with the water table more than 2,000 feet lower than it is now!

Rosemont pit will pump deep, create lake

By Dick Kamp

A study of flow impacts from water drainage at a proposed open-pit mine in the Santa Rita Mountains predicts the formation of an 819-foot “pit lake” 100 years after the mining is completed.

According to the study commissioned by the Augusta Resource Rosemont Mine, groundwater at the bottom of the pit will have dropped 2,020 feet below current modeled groundwater levels at that site.

Open-pit miners and underground mines pump water constantly when operating so that folding does not hinder operations once a pit is below groundwater levels. Read more »

Save the Scenic Santa RitasThe Coronado National Forest announced recently that they will not consider a "no action" alternative in writing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Rosemont mine. The draft, expected out late this year, should include a robust no action alternative that lays out clearly the current status quo in the Santa Rita mountains and what would be lost if a mine were approved.

Congresswoman Giffords and Congressman Grijalva, our southern Arizona Congressional Representatives, have written a letter to the Forest Service expressing their dismay for this decision and urging the Coronado National Forest to reconsider. View a copy of the letter.