Will we lose Oak Flat Campground to Mining?

[PRDATR]

I have not been there for years been there for years but according to this article the area is going to be part of a land swap that McCain added to the defense spending act which will probably get approved by Thursday. Thoughts?

 

 

http://m.tucson.com/news/apache-tribe-distressed-by-privatization-of-sacred-land/article_c8f9f32c-80c0-11e4-a781-a7334409bcc3.html?mobile_touch=true

 

[DesertBull]

My thoughts......McCain is a d-bag.

[Pine Donkey]

My thoughts:

McCain is a D-bag.

I have little trust of either party in congress.

This is another emotional based, one-sided, biased article by the liberal Star.

What land is this being swapped for?

Our state needs to strengthen the job base in wealth generating industries such as mining, logging, manufacturing and ranching.

Many of the tribes who are objecting would not hesitate to put a casino on this land if they had the opportunity.

[DesertBull]

Foreign mining company Resolution Copper Mining wants to establish a mine there.

 

 

 

Bet you McCain and others received "donations" from this company though lobbyist. Just a hunch.

[Flatlander]

This has been in the works for a long time. The campground will be relocated. This state is a mining state, and that industry is a huge contributor to our economy. Evenif the mining company is foreign, it will employ hundreds of locals directly, and hundreds more will be required in downstream roles.

 

This type of operation could be a huge boon to the town of Superior. Maybe it could be transformed from a town overrun with tweakers to a developing community with an economic engine.

[bvanetten]

Anyone have a map of the 2400 acres in question? Supposedly it won't be an open pit operation but Block-Cave mine. The end result will probably look the same. 2 mile wide 1000 foot deep ugly butt hole in the ground. Is cut and fill mining that much more expensive?

 

http://tucson.com/business/local/massive-mine-proposed-at-oak-flat-sacred-tribal-land/article_36556048-ba26-54ba-8445-0ff8b753e29b.html

 

To bad. Good Coues, Bear, Fox country.

[Snapshot]

Yes indeed. McCain is a Double -D bag. If he is involved, it is probably not a good thing. Career politician stuffing his pockets.

 

Job creation is a good thing if the situation is right. However, these are foreign based companies, and the Lion's share of the profits leave our country.

 

Rosemont mine has been years in the making. That area is(Was), a designated OHV area. I lived on the Sahuarita side of the mountain, and used to ride there all the time. Rosemont mine brought in security patrols who tried to harrass, and keep out the atv riders, which they didn't ave the right to do, as they did not have the permits to control the land yet. Beautiful area for hunting and recreational activities, will now be a big hole in the ground.

 

Many pro's and cons to the situation.

[Flatlander]

Maybe you guys should contact the Sahara Club. I'm sure they'd be glad to help you out.

[1uglydude]

Is this really the first many of you have heard of this project and the proposed legislation for the land swap? Have you been living under a rock for the last decade?

 

In my past life I was employed doing legal work for mining companies...even some "foreign" companies. I can assure you, the fact that it is foreign does not mean that most of the money leaves the country.

 

This project means JOBS, and lots of them. It also means billions and billions of dollars for the state coffers. It's been several years since I studied up on it, and I might be misremembering, but the direct impact on the state budget was estimated to be as much as a billion dollars a year once this thing is up and going full bore.

 

What are we losing? A crappy campground right next to a major highway with almost no access to the areas behind it. Climbers are losing a "good" climbing rock (whatever that means), but it's not like there aren't rocks everywhere you turn where they can go risk their lives. In return, the forest service is getting several pieces of sensitive riparian habitat and recreational areas throughout the state.

[ready2hunt]

Anyone who had driven down "main st" in superior would welcome this. No offense to people living in superior

[Snapshot]

Maybe you guys should contact the Sahara Club. I'm sure they'd be glad to help you out.

Never heard of the "Sahara Club"

[BeardownAZ]

This country is to blame for so many foreign companies going up and american made going down. To many restrictions here. Foreign or not this company will provide jobs. Much needed jobs. Not like American companies (example Walmart) treat there people worth a dam anyway.

[Snapshot]

This country is to blame for so many foreign companies going up and american made going down. To many restrictions here. Foreign or not this company will provide jobs. Much needed jobs. Not like American companies (example Walmart) treat there people worth a dam anyway.

No worries on the jobs. Obama's amnesty has just created a huge blue collar workforce that will gladly accept these jobs for considerably less than what American born taxpayers would normally get. All job creators are drooling over the possibility of lower labor costs, and increased profit margins.

[34a36b]

I work in a mine, but I don't have anything at stake if these project do/don't get started. I know how the business works for the most part and have a lot of experience dealing with anti's and their misinformation. And I don't care for McCain either, but think about it. The miners are giving more land (mostly riparian habitat) for relatively barren land next to a highway. So it's a net increase of public land (more than 2 for 1 exchange).

The companies are foreign, but the suppliers and workers are here, so there is the cash flow, tax and payroll benefits, which will help AZ. I live near Rosemont too and my brother is one of their closest neighbors. I've been out there the last several years no problem, hunting, hiking and metal detecting. I heard they closed it recently because when Hudbay bought them, they did a big drilling program with a bunch of rigs, and they didn't want anyone getting hurt while the equipment was going in/out everyday, etc. It's basically a federally regulated work site, and they would be responsible for citations because people without training/safety gear was wandering around, etc. In the past they have publically stated they would try to maintain as much as pubic use as possible, but I doubt it once mining starts... too much liability. Maybe in areas far away from active mining(?).

 

A lot of articles about this exchange are smear pieces about losing "forest" and sacred land, showing beautiful photos of park land and lakes, nowhere near the land being given up. All the Easterners are thinking the miners will be flattening teepees next to sequoias. After all, we are all only out there to murder Bambi's mommy and daddy... As hard as it is to get anything done in America anymore, I think people should support this if it is somewhat reasonable. So use Google Earth, look up the parcels and see what you think. Better than making a knee jerk reaction - too much of that going on these days.

Another thing is, if they can stop a billion dollar project that is somewhat reasonable, think about what they can do to a minority of people enjoying our hunting heritage. Our country was founded to protect minority rights, not for the majority to rule by fiat.

No law is being broken here - these exchanges have happened many times before. The antis are just spinning this to make it look like an unusual backdoor deal. If it's not a net benefit, it wouldn't go through - the parcels are independently appraised and benefits/costs weighed. I don't think anyone's rights are being trampled upon - it's not native land, it's minable land, more and better land is being exchanged, jobs will be created, natives can still pick berries, access and use for most of the rock climbing areas will be maintained. Only part of the land will be damaged by subsidence from block caving - which doesn't quite look the same as a terraced open pit mine.

I hope you do some more investigation until you pass judgment. Cheers!

[DesertBull]

My point was not about jobs or a freakin camp ground. There are not any American mining companies that do this or are there just not any American companies that could outbid for McCains support?

 

I bet you anything that what this company is swamping is not worth jack squat compared to what they are getting.