April 23 2026
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: John Dougherty, Executive Director
jdougherty@scenicsantaritas.org
Tucson—The Tucson City Council agreed Tuesday to oppose the April 29 auction of 160 acres of State Trust Land in the Santa Rita Mountain foothills requested by Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals for its proposed Copper World mine.
“We are very thankful that the City of Tucson is opposing the auction,” Save the Scenic Santa Ritas Executive Director John Dougherty said. “This sends another clear message to the governor that Southern Arizona is strongly opposed to Copper World and wants her to stop the auction.”
Tucson’s decision comes a week after Rep. Adelita Grijalva, (D-AZ) called on the governor to “be stronger” and take action to oppose Copper World rather than facilitating the project by auctioning land the mine wants to use as a waste dump.
Pima County has passed four resolutions since 2007 opposing open pit copper mining in the Santa Rita Mountains with the most recent approved last October.
“Governor Hobbs needs to listen to Southern Arizona’s political leaders who are strongly opposed to Copper World rather than working to enrich Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals and its partner, Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi,” Dougherty said. “Copper World will drain an aquifer to export copper overseas and generate huge profits for Hudbay and Mitsubishi. This is a terrible deal for Arizona.”
The Tucson council on Tuesday approved a motion for Mayor Regina Romero to send a letter to Hobbs requesting her to stop the auction. Council member Miranda Schubert said she was “really concerned” about the auction and wanted “to make sure that we were united in expressing our disapproval.”
Romero said she would “be happy to write a letter on behalf of the mayor and council taking this official position against the auction.”
In a separate motion, the council approved preparation of a city resolution formally opposing Copper World which would destroy the northern half of the Santa Rita Mountains while threatening a major portion of Tucson’s renewable drinking water supply. The resolution is expected be on the council’s May 5 meeting agenda.
The council’s decision to formally oppose the auction comes two months after the mayor and all six council members signed a full-page advertisement in the Feb. 20 Arizona Capitol Times calling on the governor to withdraw the auction.
Three members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, four state legislators and two Tohono O’odham Nation leaders also signed the ad, which was sponsored by Save the Scenic Santa Ritas.
Hobbs, through a spokesperson, rejected the auction withdrawal request within days, according to a Feb. 23 article in the Arizona Daily Star. Grijalva subsequently signed the ad which was republished in the Capitol Times on April 17.
Separately, Pima County has repeatedly asked the governor to withdraw the auction since the Arizona State Land Department began the process last summer. The governor has rebuffed the county’s requests.
“The governor can cancel the auction at any time before the auction,” Dougherty added. “There is no reason to sell this land now, especially when Hudbay says it won’t need it for at least 15 years.”
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