Photo via City of Casa Grande
(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Arizona Sonoran Copper Company.)
By Jodie Newell | Pinal Central
CASA GRANDE — Steady but slow progress regarding the opening of Cactus Mine took another step as the Casa Grande Planning and Zoning Commission approved a request for a major planning amendment to allow expansion on 333 acres west of Bianco Road and north of Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway.
Applicant Omar Abdallah of the Scottsdale-based Rose Law Group on behalf of Arizona Sonoran Copper Company told the commission Thursday that the company is looking to use the land for underground mining, rock storage and leach ponds.
City Planner Joe Horn said that there had been feedback from a community member who had expressed concerns about mine blasting and what impact that may have on the surrounding community.
Team Leader of Arizona Sonoran Travis Snider was quick to point out to the commission that the company is very mindful of its use of explosives in any mining activities and that mining practices had greatly changed since the days of the Sacaton Mine at the site in the 1970s and ’80s. He also disclosed that the company had undertaken blast simulations including seismic testing to gauge blast effects.
