POTENTIAL IMPACT OF MINING ON PATAGONIA AREA

Early in May, Arizona Mining Inc (AMI) released its Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). As a Canadian company trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, AMI is guided by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects which defines the information that can be provided in a PEA and “. . . it can only demonstrate the potential viability of mineral resources, not the technical or economic viability of a project.”

Some of the items in the PEA related to water, hazardous materials and truck traffic:

“For the PEA it was ASSUMED [emphasis added] an adequate water resource from ground water wells is available on the mine property.” p 201

The project will use 650 gallons of water per minute. If the mine goes into production, it will operate 24 hours, 7 days a week. 650 gallons of water per minute is 936,000 gallons per day, 6,552,000 gallons per week, 27,846,000 gallons per month, 334,152,000 gallons of water annually.

“After mineral extraction, approximately 50% of the tailings will be sent back underground as backfill . . .” p7

“The recommended mining method is sub-level open stoping.” p 8 “The underground mine is relatively deep and has a large mining footprint.” p 17 The average drill depth in 2016-17 was 4,094 feet and the average depth of the Taylor holes is 3,725 feet.

“Mining activities will be fully mechanized and large modern trackless mobile equipment will be employed throughout.” p 140

Of the many chemicals (reagents) to be used onsite, two are HIGHLY toxic: sodium cyanide and ammonium nitrate.There will be extensive blasting. “This would require approximately 143 Tons / month of explosive requiring 7 transport deliveries per month. Peak consumption is in Year 6 and the maximum quantity of explosives required is 2,460 tons per year, or 205 tons per month, requiring 10 transport deliveries per month.” p 165

Timothy McVeigh used 2 tons of ammonium nitrate when he blew up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma. 240 tons of ammonium nitrate were stored at the West Fertilizer Company in Texas when an explosion in 2013 killed 15, injured 200 and damaged many buildings.

 
The estimates for monthly truck traffic (estimates are ONE WAY so double the number to get road traffic):

SUPPLY AND CONCENTRATE TRUCKS:
(assumption is each truck carries 40,000 pounds)

ammonium nitrate deliveries p 165 7-10 per month
sodium cyanide deliveries p 205 1-2 per month
other chemical deliveries p 205 40 per month
shipment of concentrates p182 & 183 1,946 per month
(assumption: zinc and lead concentrates are material that would be shipped if not shipped as concentrates than number would be larger)
Employees p148

• 264 employees per day; 7,920 per month

OR

• AMI suggests employees will be bused from Nogales, Sierra Vista and Tucson which would be 180 buses per month (assumption buses are full and carry 50 people)

The BIG truck traffic totals an estimated 3,996 trucks per month or 133 BIG trucks per day on Harshaw road any time of the day or night. PLUS 264 employees who will travel in buses or personal vehicles.

Truck Access Roads: “Three access routes to the mine property were reviewed. Each route is along existing improved and unimproved roadways. The preferred alternative is to upgrade the existing Harshaw road.” “These potential new improvements or any operating restrictions could arise through the necessary coordination with the town of Patagonia, and possibly others.” p 163

As stated twice in the PEA (p 15 and p 212): “The PEA is preliminary in nature. It includes inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.”

The potential impact on the quantity and quality of water, the blasting and the increase in traffic would be devastating on the quality of life in the Patagonia area. This is just the tip of the iceberg which would be a mine operation in the middle of the Patagonia mountains, one of the most beautiful and biologically diverse areas of the United States. The impact on the area’s water system, the loss of tree coverage and the increase in noise 24 hours a day among all other impacts would make life difficult for all residents of the Patagonia area.

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The 239 page PEA link: https://www.arizonamining.com/_resources/technical-reports/Arizona-Mining-Technical-Report.pdf

Patagonia Area Resource Alliance is a grassroots, non-profit community alliance committed to preserving and protecting the Patagonia Mountains and to empowering people to steward this global biodiversity hotspot. Contact info@patagoniaalliance.org or Carolyn Shafer at 520.405.1117