TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — City leaders, county officials and local advocates are stepping up their campaign to protect the Santa Rita Mountains, urging Gov. Katie Hobbs to block an April 29 auction of 160 acres of Arizona State Trust Land that Hudbay Minerals has requested for its proposed Copper World mine.
The Tucson City Council voted Tuesday to oppose the auction and directed Mayor Regina Romero to send a formal letter to the governor asking her to stop the sale. The council also approved preparing a city resolution that would formally oppose Copper World; the resolution is expected to be considered at the council’s May 5 meeting.
The action follows sustained opposition across Southern Arizona. Pima County has passed multiple resolutions since 2007 opposing open-pit copper mining in the Santa Ritas, and earlier this year Mayor Romero and all six council members joined a full-page advertisement in the Arizona Capitol Times calling on the governor to withdraw the auction. Three Pima County supervisors, several state legislators and leaders of the Tohono O’odham Nation also signed the ad.
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, the local nonprofit coordinating opposition, welcomed Tucson’s decision. “This sends another clear message to the governor that Southern Arizona is strongly opposed to Copper World and wants her to stop the auction,” said SSSR Executive Director John Dougherty. He warned the project would “drain an aquifer to export copper overseas” and questioned selling the land now when Hudbay has reportedly said it would not need it for at least 15 years.
Rep. Adelita Grijalva — who has joined rallies against the proposal and publicly urged stronger action from state leadership — added her voice to the push to save the range. In recent public remarks and a statement tied to the opposition campaign, Grijalva called on Gov. Hobbs to take a firmer stance and to halt any actions that would facilitate development of the proposed mine, saying local leaders and residents expect the governor to protect Southern Arizona’s water and landscape.
Watch Grijalva's video announcement below:
Supporters of the auction and project proponents, including Hudbay, argue the mine would bring investment and jobs; opponents counter that the environmental and water impacts to the Santa Ritas, nearby communities and regional aquifers would be unacceptable. Grijalva stated in her video above that, yes, there would be some new jobs created - but only temporarily.
The State Land Department began the auction process last summer and, according to Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, has so far declined repeated requests from Pima County and others to withdraw the sale. Dougherty noted the governor retains the authority to cancel the auction before it is held.
The 160-acre Arizona State Trust Land parcel, intended for auction to Hudbay Minerals for the Copper World mine project, is located at the western base of the Santa Rita Mountains, directly adjacent to the Santa Rita Experimental Range.
The Tucson council’s move and growing political pressure add to a months‑long campaign by community groups and elected officials to block the land sale and preserve the Santa Rita Mountains as a source of drinking water, wildlife habitat and public recreation.
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