Responsible Mining

Tyrone Mine

Mining in Granty County: a GRIP Aerial Photo Essay

Since pictures often speak louder than words, we'll be sharing this collection of aerial images with our community in periodic installments. 

This month's selection provides you with a bird's eye perspective of PLS ponds at the Chino and Tyrone mines. These are areas that collect "Pregnant Leach Solution" -- sulfuric acid solution containing copper and other metals -- that are further processed to produce the copper cathodes we all see transported on our highways for further manufacturing.  Click here to view!

Aerial Photos of Chino & Tyrone Mines Viewable via US Mining Database

The Environmental Working Group's US Mining Database Maps use aerial Google Earth imagery combined with mining claim data to give a unique perspective on current scars on the landscape, along with plans and claims for the future.

View US Mining Database Maps for:

Navigate Here to Read the Following Articles:

Financial Crisis Impacts Outlook for Mining Projects
High Demand Spurs High Copper Prices
Lone Mountain Copper Project Back on the Table?
The Answer, My Friends, Could Have Been Blowing in the Wind . . .
Phelps Dodge Hurley Smelter Stacks Are Gone . . .
Judge Denies GRIP Petition for Temporary Restraining Order . . .
Community Workgroup & GRIP Meet with NM Environment Department . . .
GRIP Files Petition for Temporary Restraining Order . . .
New Scientific Report: Widespread Failure to Keep Mines from Polluting Water
Finally! A Much-Needed Bill to Reform 1872 Mining Law . . .

Financial Crisis Impacts Outlook for Mining Projects

Concerns about a growing global recession have brought down copper prices — and the share price of mining giant Freeport-McMoRan with them. By press time copper had hit a three-year trading low of $1.84 per pound. Shares of Freeport- McMoRan had closed at a four-year low of $32.81 per share, down over 70% from the stock’s 52-week high of $127.24. According to some industry analysts, commodities markets are expected to remain highly volatile and uncertain in the short-term. Freeport-McMoRan reported a 33% drop in profits in its third quarter earnings report and noted that “future capital spending plans are being reviewed in response to the impact of recent changes in global economic conditions on commodities prices.” According to news reports, expansion projects at the company’s Arizona operations in Sierrita, Bagdad, and Miami now will be delayed, saving $370 million in capital costs. In conversations with company officials in Grant County, GRIP was told that mining projects and reclamation work at Freeport’s Chino-Cobre and Tyrone mines are still moving forward, although at a slower pace and effort is being spent on identifying costcutting measures. Diesel fuel costs have dropped recently, easing some impacts on the cost of mining. Officials stated that the company is still hiring, however it is also assessing probable scenarios for the future that depend on varying market conditions. As we reported in our summer issue, high copper prices forced a shift from using Chino’s Lee Hill Pit as a leach operation to mining valuable ore. But the current financial crisis has demonstrated that mining operations may change quickly in response to global market shifts. GRIP continues to monitor activities at area mines and will stay on top of changes as they occur.

High Demand Spurs High Copper Prices

If you think gasoline prices are skyrocketing, take a look at copper. In 1911, a pound of raw, high-grade copper cost about 12 cents. As recently as 1956, the price was only 39 cents. But for much of 2008 that same amount of ore sold for around $4 a pound. Since 2002 alone, copper’s value has risen over 600 percent, making it one of the best performers in the precious metals market. (Prices also have risen dramatically for gold, silver, molybdenum, platinum, palladium, zinc, nickel, tungsten, and uranium.)

Copper mining in southwestern New Mexico has enjoyed an enormous boost from this turn of events, but what’s behind the run-up?

The primary cause is increased world demand, fueled particularly by manufacturing and construction in Asia. China alone is said to be responsible for 64 percent of increased copper demand between 2003 and 2007. Russia and the Middle East, too, have industrialized at a furious pace. Vehicles, factories, power plants, houses, and electronic devices use lots of copper.

“Demand will be very difficult to slow down unless you take a very bearish view on the long-term global economy,” Lehman Brothers energy analyst Adam Robinson told the New York Times last January. Noted natural resources fund manager John Dowd: “We have yet to see any material slowdown in international demand for commodities.”Historically, copper production has been a good indicator of the global economy’s health. Its price rise has been roughly in sync with economic activity. (After aluminum and iron, copper is the planet’s most used metal.)

The weakening of the U.S. dollar and economy has contributed to the surge by inflating prices and driving investors out of the stock and bond markets and into commodity speculation.

Another factor in the boom has been the shift from smelting to solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX/EW). The latter is a closed-loop process for extraction of copper from mined ore, waste dumps, and tailings. Ore is stacked on a leach pad and soaked with dilute sulfuric acid, after which the solution is collected and combined with an organic extractant that combines with the copper. Stripped from this liquid solution, the metal particles flow into a separate tank and are recovered through electroplating. The result is a 99.999 percent pure copper sheet.

Freeport-McMoRan, which uses SX/EW at its Chino and Tyrone mines near Silver City, has seen its stock price soar from $67 to as high as $127 per share during the past year. The Phoenix-based firm is among the world’s largest copper producers and also mines the metal in Asia, South America, and Africa. It reportedly earned a $2.7-billion profit in 2007.

“After its [spring 2007] purchase of Phelps-Dodge, Freeport seemed to use most of its profits to reduce long-term debt,” said Bill Brancard, director of the Mining and Minerals Division. “But during the last six months or so, it appears the company is putting that money into capital investments.” While Freeport has approached Brancard’s office to discuss a few minor Grant County expansions, he says that so far this has translated into very little additional mining activity. “Their primary expansion projects have been in Arizona and Colorado as well as Africa’s Congo.”

However, given high copper prices, ore bodies that were previously uneconomical to mine are now considered profitable. For example, current plans are to mine the Lee Hill Pit at Chino rather than use it for a leach pile as was previously planned as recently as 8 months ago. This change will now require that new leach capacity be developed at Chino, most likely expanding the existing footprint of the mine. “Life of mine” estimates have also increased, indicating that active mining will go on longer than anticipated a year ago. In the case of the Tyrone mine, 8 years longer than the 8 - 10 year estimate Freeport gave in their Tyrone appeal testimony last summer.

One side-effect of record copper prices in the U.S, is increased theft. Wire and plumbing pipe are disappearing overnight, along with electronic parts and even cemetery plaques.

Lone Mountain Copper Project Back on the Table?

In 2005 the Canadian mineral exploration corporation, Augusta Resources, acquired 100% interest in the Lone Mountain Copper Zinc Project, encompassing about 640 acres located at the southern end of Kirkland Road in Arenas Valley, 5 miles east of Silver City. The company obtained state permits to conduct exploratory drilling to better assess copper and zinc resources identified in the 1970s and ‘80s. News of a potential underground mining operation caused quite a stir in the area, with the Silver City Town Council discussing a possible resolution opposing mining operations within the city limits and extraterritorial zone. Augusta Resources never pursued plans to develop the Lone Mountain project. But the 2005 partnership formed to conduct the mineral exploration for Augusta has now reorganized into the Southwest Exploration Group and signed a Letter of Intent with another Canadian firm, Continent Resources, to continue mineral exploration.

Our assessment is that although copper prices are high, it is unlikely the project will get developed in the foreseeable future. This appears to be another case of a junior exploration company trying to get a major mining firm to buy its mining claims. Given that the big firms have more mines than capital or available equipment, the Lone Mountain project looks to be a long shot.

The Answer, My Friends, Could Have Been Blowing in the Wind
GRIP's Petition for Temporary Restraining Order Forces Phelps Dodge
to Improve Hurley Smelter Stack Demolition Plans

by Sally Smith, Director of Responsible Mining/ Summer '07

It's not an every day occurrence that 500-foot smelter stacks are demolished within 500 feet of a residential area, let alone in our own Grant County. Yet last May, executives of mining giant Phelps Dodge (PD) expected the public to blindly trust them when they announced their intent to drop the two deteriorating structures in Hurley, east of Silver City. The public was not eve informed of any of the details of this event until three days before the originally scheduled demolition.

When notified last spring that the demolition had been moved up and was to take place in two weeks, GRIP staff filed a petition for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to force the company to provide the community its demolition, evacuation, and air quality monitoring plans. GRIP staff's perspective was that the public had a right to know the details of a hazardous activity taking place in their community. Although its petition to halt the demolition until the public's health and safety had been adequately protected was denied in court, GRIP's action forced Phelps Dodge to provide some additional information to the public, take a second look at their plans, and make some procedural changes.

Since PD's announcement in September 2005 that the stacks would eventually come down, GRIP has raised concerns about exactly how the company planned to demolish the stacks. GRIP's primary concerns were protection of the health of the citizens of Hurley and prevention of recontamination of the recently cleaned-up residential yards in Hurley.

In a January 2007 Silver City Daily Press article, PD spokesperson Richard Peterson said that the company had not yet begun to plan this event. So when GRIP was notified that the demolition date had in fact been moved up to May from the 2nd quarter to 3rd quarter of 2007, GRIP's staff was understandably surprised and felt compelled to take action.

GRIP staff had been in contact with the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Air Quality Bureau (AQB) and NMED Water Quality Bureau (WQB) since September 2005, inquiring about NMED's regulatory role in the demolition and precautions that were planned. More than 4,000 people, 26.8% who are disabled, live very near to the stacks, and although they were cleaned prior to the blasting, according to PD, both stacks had processed a variety of potentially hazardous metals. GRIP was informed by NMED that some soils around the facility had more than 30% copper content.

Because there were no written documents publicly available on PD's plans for the stack demolition, the public received conflicting information from newspaper reports and rumors. GRIP staff was shocked to find out from NMED staff in April that neither the WQB nor any other Federal or State regulatory authority had jurisdiction over the way the actual blasting and collapse of these structures would occur. GRIP staff was further shocked to find that the older of the two stacks had 33 feet of asbestos mastic remaining near the top.

Additionally, GRIP staff learned from NMED that there were no contingency, safety or evacuation plans specifically related to the demolition and available to the public. GRIP raised these concerns at a May 3rd Community Meeting in Silver City hosted by NMED Secretary Ron Curry. There was no response to GRIP by NMED or PD at this meeting. GRIP staff expected that NMED would issue some sort of Heath Advisory for residents, but this never occurred.

GRIP also learned that PD expected a crowd of up to 10,000 spectators at the demolition event. The originally scheduled date was the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend and the opening day of the Silver City Blues Festival. GRIP staff feared that the four Hurley police, in charge of traffic and public safety, might be strapped for police manpower. Later GRIP staff learned that the extra police force would be partly voluntary and the majority paid for, not by PD, but by the municipalities involved and the state and therefore your tax dollars.

GRIP received concerned calls from residents of Hurley wondering what to do. Should they leave town and if so, for how long? Should they seal their houses or take valuables off walls and shelves? Would there be seismic activity reminiscent of an earthquake? GRIP staff didn't know what to tell them.

With just weeks to spare, GRIP staff got busy researching procedures of other similar demolitions and watched videos of these events. The examples found included precautions that had not been discussed in the Hurley preparations, such as 1,000 foot safety zones where no one was permitted and use of water for dust suppression before, during and after the demolition.

On May 14th, GRIP filed for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to give the public more time to become informed. After GRIP filed its petition, PD finally met with the Air Quality Bureau (AQB) one week prior to the originally scheduled demolition to discuss air quality monitoring during the demolition event. Between PD and the AQB, particulate matter, metals and asbestos were to be monitored before, during and after the demolition event. However, two outstanding issues remained. The company confirmed that it would not use any dust suppression, and there was no procedure in place for determining if Hurley soils needed to be re-sampled as a result of the demolition event.
Due to the GRIP petition (and perhaps due to the weather) PD canceled the May 25th demolition and rescheduled it for June 5th. GRIP executive Director Allyson Siwik and President Sally Smith were in Hurley that June day, and they reported that the local sentiment was that luck was with the people of Hurley.

That's because right after the blast, as the stacks were going down and a huge plume of dust and smoke was rising, the wind shifted for just a few minutes toward town. Just as quickly it thankfully shifted again taking the particulate south, away from town, but it was a reminder of the potential dangers of fickle winds. The days immediately after the demolition were some of the gustiest, most violent winds many could recall in 30 years. Thanks to the persistent efforts of GRIP, NMED and EPA required that PD water down the site before and after the demolition to keep asbestos and dust down. Results of ambient air quality monitoring showed no problems with asbestos or particulate matter in the town of Hurley that day. Given these results, it is expected that soils will not be retested.

While GRIP was not able to obtain a Temporary Restraining Order, additional time permitted GRIP staff to alert EPA about its concerns regarding the stack demolition and question the Agency and NMED on issues related to the demolition. The day prior to the June 5 demolition, PD was notified that it indeed had to implement dust suppression during the demolition event.

GRIP was very disappointed that NMED failed to effectively communicate about the stack demolition. We sent a letter to Environment Secretary Ron Curry describing our concerns and dissatisfaction with how the Department had handled communication with the community. We expect to meet with the Secretary to discuss these issues further.

GRIP staff was also extremely disappointed that while communication between PD and GRIP has in general improved, the organization was left out of the loop about this rush job demolition that could have had serious public health and safety impacts on the Grant County community. In our opinion, a disastrous result was avoided by vigilance and a bit of good luck.

Photos of Hurley smelter stack demolition taken from Chino Blvd. and Romero St., southwest of the stacks.

Phelps Dodge Hurley Smelter Stacks Are Gone

Hurley , NM ; June 5, 2007 -- At approximately 10 am this morning, the Hurley smelter stacks were "dropped", permanently removing these landmarks from the area's landscape. A three-minute warning siren alarmed and then another and within seconds the explosion could be heard and the stacks began to fall to the northeast. Dust shot out of the base of the stacks and a huge billowing cloud formed and drifted to the south. Although the prevailing winds appeared to be from the north/northwest and at times even the northeast, for a few minutes the cloud appeared to be drifting to the southwest toward our vantage point and a number of onlookers decided to head for their cars (including us). The dust cloud was quite dense and black in places with an odor possibly of explosives. Fifteen minutes or so after impact, the remnants of the cloud were at the southern edge of town.

The serious nature of today’s event was demonstrated by the huge 1000 foot high dust cloud that formed following impact and showed the importance of having adequate planning and oversight of the demolition.

Although Phelps Dodge has maintained that dust suppression was unnecessary and “window dressing”, GRIP was notified by the New Mexico Environment Department on Monday that PD was required by the Department and EPA to wet the impact zone with water and use water cannon once the stacks had come down. There was concern that the 2500 sq. ft of non-friable asbestos mastic remaining at the upper end of the Kennecott stack could be pulverized by the impact of the stack demolition and asbestos could possibly be released. Within 3 weeks, PD should have asbestos monitoring data available to NMED and the community. GRIP will be following up with NMED on air quality monitoring results and subsequent remediation of the smelter site. Check back here at the GRIP website for updates.

GRIP is glad that the Hurley stacks are down with no apparent impact to public health and safety. The smelter site can now be cleaned up in order to protect the long-term health of Hurley residents.

Judge Denies GRIP Petition for Temporary Restraining Order to Halt Phelps Dodge Hurley Smelter Stack Demolition
Petition compels PD to release information related to stack demolition

Silver City, NM, May 24, 2007 – Yesterday Sixth Judicial District Judge J.C. Robinson denied Gila Resources Information Project’s petition for a temporary restraining order to halt the Phelps Dodge Hurley Smelter stack demolition until the public’s health and safety have been adequately protected. The petition was filed on May 14 in Grant County.

Read the full press release here.

Community Workgroup and GRIP Meet with NM Environment Department Air Quality Bureau to Discuss Air Monitoring Plans for Hurley Smelter Stack Demolition
Significant outstanding issues remain one week prior to scheduled demolition

Silver City, NM, May 18, 2007 - On Thursday, members of the Chino AOC Community Workgroup (CWG) and the Gila Resources Information Project (GRIP) met with Staff of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Air Quality Bureau (AQB) to discuss Phelps Dodge and NMED plans for air quality monitoring during the smelter stack demolition. The AQB informed the attendees at the meeting that NMED will be monitoring for particulates and metals and is in the process of finalizing locations for air quality monitoring equipment.

Read the full press release here.

GRIP Files Petition for Temporary Restraining Order to Halt Phelps Dodge Hurley Smelter Stack Demolition
Community has not been given adequate information and time to review plans to protect public health and safety during demolition event

Silver City, NM, May 14, 2007 - The Gila Resources Information Project (GRIP), a non-profit advocacy group that promotes responsible mining, filed today in Grant County 6th Judicial District a Petition for a Temporary Restraining Order to halt the Phelps Dodge Hurley Smelter stack demolition until the public's health and safety have been adequately protected. The Petition was filed by GRIP's attorney, Douglas C. Littlejohn of Littlejohn Law Office of Silver City, NM.

Read the full press release here.

More than 130 years after its enactment, the General Mining Law of 1872 still governs hard rock mining on federal lands -- to the benefit of foreign and domestic companies who pay no royalties on the minerals that they extract and to the detriment of the public that bears the brunt of environmental degradation and loss of special public lands. The 1872 Mining Law has no environmental requirements and allows mining companies to pollute valuable water supplies, destroy wildlife habitat and scar Western landscapes. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that mining has polluted 40% of the headwaters of Western watersheds. In a March 2007 study, Environmental Working Group found that since 2002, there have been new claims staked on 2.3 million acres of Western public lands, 365 of which are within 5 miles of Grand Canyon National Park. Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Representative Jim Costa (D-CA) have introduced HR 2262, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007, to reform this outdated law.

If it becomes law, HR2262 will protect public lands from irresponsible mining by increasing acreage of lands off limits to exploration and development, such as Wilderness Study Areas, sacred sites and Areas of Critical Concern. It will also give land managers the ability to balance mining activities with other uses. The proposed bill will establish environmental standards for adequate reclamation; protection of surface and groundwater supplies, fish and wildlife; and proper re-vegetation of the mine site. The bill would also prohibit perpetual pollution and ban the process of "permanent treatment" to meet water quality standards. The bill goes even further: it will implement fiscal reforms that include ending patenting (the ability to buy public lands for mining for less than $5 per acre), it will establish an 8% royalty on the value of the minerals extracted (comparable to the 8% to 12.5% royalty paid by coal, oil and natural gas extractors), and it will mandate reclamation bonding with clear standards to minimize taxpayer liability for clean-up costs. HR2262 would also establish a reclamation fund from royalty payments to clean up abandoned hard rock mines on federal lands. Finally, the bill would require more substantial oversight of public land mining, authorization of citizen suits and a ban on new permits for mine operators in violation of the law.

This bill is needed in New Mexico: mining claims in the Land of Enchantment have increased 50% since 2003 to 11,348 claims, totaling 234,115 acres of public land. Uranium mining claims in particular have escalated since 2004 given global demand for nuclear power. The organization Environmental Working Group has identified Lordsburg as one of the areas in the state with the greatest increase in mining claims since 2002.

All over New Mexico, the Rahall Bill could provide big benefits, including protection of sacred sites on Navajo land that are threatened by uranium mining, like Mount Taylor. Citizens in the Land of Enchantment would also benefit from the 8% royalty on the value of extracted minerals that mining giant Phelps Dodge and other mining companies will have to pay that would in turn be used to clean up abandoned mines. The bill could also influence reclamation plans for the Chino and Tyrone mines, requiring more stringent source control rather than dependence on perpetual pumping and treating to meet groundwater quality standards (see related article in this edition of Get A Grip).

GRIP has joined more than 50 environmental and conservation groups from communities across the country to endorse the Rahall Bill in a letter to Congress.

Sources: Earthworks Factsheet "Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007"; Environmental Working Group US Mining Database.

For more information, visit:
Earthworks - www.earthworksaction.org
Environmental Working Group - www.ewg.org

New Scientific Report Reveals Widespread Failure to Keep Mines from Polluting Water
Regulatory and scientific failures in mine permitting result in widespread water pollution, increased public health risks, and costly taxpayer-funded cleanups

New scientific research finds that faulty water quality predictions, mitigation measures and regulatory failures result in the approval of mines that create significant water pollution problems. Despite assurances from government regulators and mine proponents that mines would not pollute clean water, researchers found that 76 percent of studied mines exceeded water quality standards, polluting rivers, and groundwater with toxic contaminants, such as lead, mercury, arsenic and cyanide, and exposing taxpayers to huge cleanup liabilities. The research, released by the Gila Resources Information Project (GRIP), Amigos Bravos and the Washington, DC-based conservation group EARTHWORKS, has major implications for new mining proposals in New Mexico.

Read the full press release here.
The full report can be downloaded at: www.mine-aid.org

Previously-held Responsible Mining Events

Gila Resources Information Project, Gila Friends Meeting & Upper Gila Watershed Alliance
present

Poison Wind

with special guests:
Norman Patrick Brown
poison wind producer
Jenny Pond
poison wind producer & director

Thursday, October 30
7:00 pm
silco theater
downtown silver city

This is a documentary about uranium mining and the devastating effect it has on the people, livestock, water and agriculture in the 4 Corners area of the US and the Grand Canyon. The path of POISON WIND has taken us to political and environmental activists within the Navajo Nation (Diné) and Pueblo People (Acoma and Laguna) of New Mexico, Western Shoshone, Hualapai and Havasupai where today many people suffer relentlessly from the effects of living near radiation contaminated lands. POISON WIND highlights the greed of mining companies that set out to destroy the balance of life created by the people of these lands...sacred to so many and offering only a death sentence in the end. This film is a "Visual Oral History" which comes from the people themselves and only serves to focus on their stories, as they speak from their hearts about how uranium mining left them victims of where they live.

Co-producer Norman Brown is Navajo and has written, produced and directed documentary, dramatic, and educational films and videos about his people. In 2005, he wrote, produced, and directed "Rez Hope", a docu-drama to educate Native American communities about the effects of alcohol and substance abuse. He developed an outreach program to the greater Native American population designed to promote discussion of these problems with the New Mexico state agencies, community health groups, and Native American youth organizations.

Brown has also written, directed and produced "Horse Song", a one hour tv drama about diabetes in the Navajo language with English subtitles. "Kei' Bidziil" was a 4 part tv series about strong family relations. Brown has also been video technical advisor and production specialist for Navajo Area Indian Health Service.

He has been a Native American advisor for ABC TV series such as "The Return of Jimmie Blackwater" and "Hope and Prey". Norman has also played principal roles in feature films including, "The Thin Red Line"(Warner Bros.), "Raising Arizona" (Coen Bros), "Black Day, Blue Night" (independent), and "The Doe Boy" (independent feature) and most recently "Poison Wind."

Bio for Jenny Pond: My name is Jenny Pond and I am the director of “POISON WIND”, which is also my first film as a producer. I have worked in the film industry since 2004. Some of my past credits include FLIGHTPLAN (VFX Team | LA), MTV’s ROOM RAIDERS (Associate Producer | AZ) and THE CURSE OF EL CHARRO (Script Supervisor | AZ). I have had the sincere pleasure of working with Jodi Foster, Danny Trejo, Billy Drago, Sean Bean, etc. This is the first film under my company’s banner of 220-productions, alongside co-producer Norman Patrick Brown.

POISON WIND was an official selection of:

• Talking Stick Film Festival
  Santa Fe, NM June 2008
• Globians 4th Annual World Documentary Film Festival,
  Potsdam, Germany August 2008
• 30th San Antonio Cinefestival,
  San Antonio, TX April 2008
• Connections: Earth + Art + A Tribute Art Show in Resistance to Desert Rock:
  Center for Southwest Studies | Fort Lewis College Durango/CO