PHOENIX — A state board has blocked construction of a controversial copper leaching operation beneath Florence — at least in the form it was proposed.
The Arizona Water Quality Appeals Board accepted the findings of an administrative law judge, who concluded that the state Department of Environmental Quality’s permit allowing Curis Resources to pump acid into the ground would not adequately protect water quality. The judge’s report found a series of shortcomings.
But board members did not kill the project outright. They rejected Diane Mihalsky’s recommendation that the permit for Florence Copper Inc. be entirely voided, concluding that would place an “unnecessary burden” on both the company and the DEQ. Instead, they agreed to give the state and Curis a chance to change the operating plan — and the conditions DEQ is imposing — to put the proposed mining operation in compliance with state laws and regulations.
DEQ spokesman Mark Shafer defended his agency’s original decision as justified.
“We issued an environmentally protective permit,” he said, but acknowledged the judge disagreed. “Given that, we think the appeals board made the correct decision in remanding the case back to DEQ to take a look at it again.”
In its order, the board concluded that Curis has the ability to make the necessary changes to its plans to allow the mine to operate in a legal fashion. But how extensive those changes will have to be to get final approval remains unclear.
Rita Maguire, the firm’s general counsel for its Florence operation, said Saturday that she is convinced Curis can meet any new permit requirements and that the mining operation eventually will be approved.
“This is not an insurmountable hurdle,” she said.
But Larry Crown, an attorney who represents those who challenged the permit, said he believes Curis never will be able to deal with all of the problems the review board wants resolved.
At the heart of the issue is property Curis obtained in 2010 from BHP, another company that had wanted to do copper mining on the same site. That includes 1,182 acres it owns outright as well as 160 acres of state mineral leases.
Curis plans to pump a sulfuric acid solution into the ground.
In essence, the idea is to have the acid dissolve the underground copper compounds. When the solution is pumped back to the surface, the copper is extracted and the acid is reused.
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