Last week KGUN 9 brought you the story about how city leaders, county officials and local advocates were 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 Toronto‑based miner Hudbay Minerals has requested for its proposed Copper World mine.
The auction went ahead on April 29, and Hudbay - the lone bidder - paid just under $1 million for the land.
So, a local conservation group has filed suit seeking to undo Hudbay's purchase of the parcel.
Save the Scenic Santa Ritas (SSSR) says in a press statement released today the Arizona State Land Department illegally changed the auction location without the constitutionally required public notice and is asking Pima County Superior Court to rescind the sale. Hudbay matched the state appraisal of $993,000 for the land that opponents say was positioned to host mine waste and would expand the project’s footprint near residential areas around Corona de Tucson.
“We are alleging the Arizona State Land Department illegally changed the auction location without providing required public notice and therefore the land sale should be nullified,” SSSR Executive Director John Dougherty said in the group’s May 1 press release. Dougherty noted the state published weekly legal notices for 10 weeks in the Arizona Capitol Times and the Green Valley News that the auction would be held at the Herbert K. Abrams Public Health Center in Tucson; instead, the sale was held about four miles away at an Arizona Department of Transportation building, SSSR says.
Opponents — including Pima County officials, Tucson leaders and regional conservation organizations such as the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection — formally urged Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Land Department to halt or defer the auction in the weeks before the sale, arguing it was premature while Hudbay’s final feasibility and planning work remained incomplete. Pima County raised particular concerns about groundwater, air quality, wildlife habitat and the prospect the parcel could be used for tailings. Those groups have filed administrative protests and pledged continued legal and political challenges if the sale stands.
The governor’s office, through spokeswoman Liliana Soto, had previously said they declined to halt the auction. “This project has been in motion for decades and, because it is primarily on private land, will proceed with or without the state’s involvement — but we are committed to ensuring the mine is a responsible neighbor and invests in surrounding communities,” Soto said.
Hudbay's Website and press materials describe Copper World as a phased, fully permitted open‑pit copper development that would produce domestic copper while creating jobs, construction investment and tax revenue.
I have reached out to Hudbay for comment and will include that information here should I hear back from them.
SSSR’s lawsuit centers on Arizona Constitution Article 10, Section 3 and a state statute that require detailed auction notices to run for 10 weeks in the closest newspaper and in a Phoenix paper and to identify the time, place and terms of sale. The group contends the Land Department’s change of venue — even if the auction time remained 11 a.m. — violated those notice requirements and rendered the sale legally deficient.
If a judge voids the purchase, Hudbay would lose its state parcel acquisition, and the contest would shift back to administrative proceedings and political debate. If the sale stands, opponents say they will escalate litigation, press political remedies and continue public campaigns aimed at blocking permits and enlist oversight to protect groundwater and neighborhoods.
The dispute underscores the broader clash between proponents who tout Copper World’s economic benefits and opponents who warn of long‑term environmental and community harm. With the special action now filed, the battle over the Santa Rita Mountains is likely to move from the auction block to the courthouse and county offices in the weeks ahead.
