OP ED

McCain: Why I'll vote for Resolution Copper

John McCain
AZ I See It
Sen. John McCain (right) talks with project director Andrew Taplin while riding 1,200 feet to the Resolution Copper Mine's surface.
  • Superior%27s economy bottomed out after a copper mine closed in 1995%2C and a quarter of residents live below the poverty line
  • But the Resolution Copper project has the potential to utterly transform this community
  • All that is required to bring this project to fruition is for Congress to pass a bill%2C which I wholeheartedly support

Driving through Superior last week, I saw the boarded-up shops that line its Main Street. I spoke with residents of this small community, many of whom are struggling to find opportunities to better their lives and those of their families.

Just a few decades ago, this area, an hour east of Phoenix, was a busy mining community. But its economy bottomed out after the old Magma Copper Mine closed in 1995. Today, a quarter of its residents live below the poverty line. Their neighbors on the San Carlos Reservation are in worse shape, reportedly suffering from a 70 percent unemployment rate and a rampant drug-abuse problem.

Today, hope is on the horizon for this hard-hit community. Last month, Resolution Copper, a joint project of mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, finished sinking a tunnel more than a mile underground, within reach of one of the top five undeveloped copper ore deposits in North America. It was a critically important development for this major job creator in one of Arizona's most economically depressed rural areas.

The Resolution Copper project has the potential to utterly transform these communities. At full capacity, the mine could create as many as 4,000 jobs and produce roughly 25 percent of our nation's domestic copper supply. Arizona as a whole will likely benefit from tens of billions of dollars in increased economic activity over the lifespan of the mine.

Last week, I traveled 1,100 feet down into the mine to meet some of the remarkable men and women working on this state-of-the-art project.

They are eager to see the project move forward and look forward to the day when their friends, neighbors and family members can enjoy the benefits of the mine's operation. They are excited by the potential to grow the workforce supporting the mine and, buoyed by its development, additional opportunities to buy or build a home in Superior, or open a small business, restaurant, or day care in town.

We also discussed how Resolution Copper has already invested more than $1 billion in its facility, with much of that going to Arizona contractors, and how important it is that Arizonans help build momentum and support for the mine.

Today, all that is required to bring this project to fruition is for Congress to pass a bill introduced by Sen. Jeff Flake, Congressman Paul Gosar and me that would let the mine expand its footprint onto land owned by the federal government.

The bill, the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act, has support from both Republicans and Democrats — a rare feat in Congress today. But it has faced opposition by a minority of environmental groups and Native American tribes who claim that the legislation somehow exempts the mine from laws protecting the environment or sacred tribal sites.

But Resolution Copper is already fully adhering to these laws, having filed its formal mine plan nearly a year ago. That action makes important information about the mine, like predicted water consumption and where the mine's tunneling will be constructed, open to the public and subject to thorough analysis by federal agencies.

I am committed to passing that bill, and I believe it's not a question of if our state will seize this tremendous opportunity, but when. It's past time for our state and nation to tap into this potential and help Arizonans in depressed areas like Superior realize a more prosperous future.

John McCain is Arizona's senior senator.