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DRAGOON — A number of landowners north of the Dragoon Mountains between Texas Canyon and U.S. Forest Service land are uneasy after receiving letters from Australian-based mining and petroleum giant BHP Billiton that informed them of the company’s intent to conduct surface exploration of their land.
The letters were mailed the second week of January.
The “non-invasive” exploration is being filed under the 1916 Stock Raising Homestead Act, which was amended by Congress in 1993, that was originally established to provide free land for grazing.
 The boxed are is where the by BHP Billiton, an Australian company that’s the second largest producer of copper, would do land exploration. (Courtesy of Sky Truth) |
However, the act kept mineral rights property of the federal government and available for leasing through the Bureau of Land Management with similar provisions to the controversial 1872 Mining Act, subject of a major congressional environmental battle in 2005.
Both acts allow exploration — first by surface filing of claims and picking up of surface samples, and later, following approval of a plan of operations, the establishment of exploratory wells. Mining could take place after the BLM conducts an environmental assessment if environmental impacts can be addressed.
The act requires BHP to give 30 days notice to a landowner and then to complete their surface exploration within 60 days, although extensions are possible from BLM.
Notices were sent out to Dragoon residents and informed them that between Feb. 10 and April 9, vehicles such as four-wheel-drive trucks would be used on their land to take samples, file claims and map. It is unclear what other manners of exploration would be legal.
A resident must allow BHP’s agent, M.L. Gerrow of Tucson, on their land, although residents intend to insist that the visit be scheduled in advance
Dragoon area resident Irma Andrews received notice that the BHP would be sending an agent onto her land “after February 10.”
The 28-year resident of the area, who lives on the Coronado National Forest boundary, said, “We’re all really upset. This isn’t open land, but the home of people living here for the beauty of the land. I belong to a gem and mineral club and have seen many exploratory hardrock mines on uninhabited land in the Dragoons that would be more appropriate to look at.”
Andrews added, “A major concern is water impacts if any mining development takes place. We have no reliable aquifer here, just runoff from the mountains. Copper mining could deplete and pollute that. With copper prices well over $2 a pound, we are worried.”
Since 2000, Dragoon area residents have been opposing the establishment of a marble mine on Coronado land owned by the German company Alpha Calcit and another resident in the area described the addition of copper exploration as a “siege.”
This exploration is for porphyry copper — common over much of Southeastern Arizona — and over a much larger area than BHP’s SHRA claims, said Ralph Fitch, president of BHP’s joint exploration partner in the region, General Minerals Corp. of Denver.
BHP notices to the BLM indicate that surface explorations on private property will take place over much of two sections (somewhat less than 2 square miles) of land. GMC has additional mining claims under the 1872 Mining Act within an additional 12.3 square kilometers (about 5 square miles) of land contiguous to the claims filed by BHP and located largely within the Coronado National Forest.
BHP is already drilling three to five exploratory boreholes, said company spokeswoman Tracey Whitehead. She confirmed that BHP has “some claims within U.S. Forest Service boundaries, and that we control some state prospecting permits on Arizona state lands.”
Fitch added, “Our joint agreement calls for BHP to conduct all exploration on our property and it would require that any exploration activity they implement such as the filing of claims on adjacent land (those of Dragoon residents) would be done consistent with exploration on our land.”
Whitehead agreed with Fitch, but stressed that further plans on private land beyond the surface exploration are unknown at this time.
Fitch said the odds of mining copper on either private or Coronado National Forest land “are still small,” and that mining, if ever carried out, would not necessarily be open pit such as that at the nearby Johnson Camp solvent-extraction electrowinnowing copper mine.
Johnson Camp has been closed since 2003, but the current owner would like to reopen soon and has filed an aquifer protection permit with Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to clean up a polluting leaching pond on the property.
“The largest planned new Arizona mine, the Resolution facility near the old Ray mine, uses a tunnel,” Fitch said. “Older plans in the Dragoon region that never came to pass were to mine in-situ—inject solutions into the ground.”
At first glance at the BLM database of Arizona mining claims, some of the GMC mineral claims filed (as Arizona General Minerals Corp.) seem to overlap with the mining claims held by the controversial Alpha Calcit marble mine.
“Drilling of the initial targets on the Dragoon property has only just commenced, but we have taken the step of staking the mineral land under the homesteads to protect our position around that property in the event that the initial phase is successful,” Whitehead said. “At this point it is not our intent to explore these lands, but should that change, progress would be subject to a rigorous consultative process.”
BHP Billiton is the world’s second largest copper producer, largest global producer of silver, nickel and lead, a leading extractor and exporter of coal, natural gas, and oil as well as mineral products. The company has more than 100 operations in more than 25 countries.
Richard Bishop, spokesman for the Dragoon Conservation Alliance that has spearheaded opposition to the marble mine, said the alliance is holding a meeting at 2 p.m. today at the Dragoon Womens Club on Johnson Road just north of the intersection of Johnson and Dragoon roads.
The meeting will discuss strategies that local residents can utilize to address the exploration.
“We would like congressional candidates for Congressman (Jim) Kolbe’s seat to attend,” Bishop said. “The purpose of this meeting will be to discuss the SRHA and why it may allow this foreign company to enter private property and file claims and drill and possibly begin mine operations.
“All those who received letters are being encouraged to attend — but we also think that all Northern Cochise County residents have a stake in this situation. The possible effects of a large copper mine in our back yard are enormous.”
DICK CAMP is the Wick Communications Co. environmental liaison. Wick Communications, which is
headquartered in Sierra Vista, owns the Herald/Review.
Ezai I. Martinez wrote on Jun 24, 2009 7:58 PM: