Scenic Highway 83 from Interstate 10 near Vail to Sonoita is one of Arizona’s few scenic highways. It winds its way through desert, grasslands, and mountain foothills with sweeping vistas. The highway also represents an economic link between Tucson, Sonoita and Patagonia, supporting a $2.4 billion tourism industry in Southern Arizona, as well as ranching and a growing wine economy. The Rosemont mine would impact all of these industries.
Arguments in favor of the mine focus on the estimated 434 direct jobs per year the mine would create during its 20-year operation. Compared to other high-paying employers, Rosemont would employ just 4% of the 10,300 employees at Ratheon Missile Systems and 38% of the 1,130 employees at Ventana Medical Systems. Moreover, Rosemont has yet to publicly state whether any of the 434 positions would be filled locally.
The negative impact of Rosemont on other sectors of the economy, including nature-based tourism (a loss of up to 77 jobs and $6.4 million in annual economic output), agriculture, and property values, suggests that Rosemont’s overall economic impact would be more detrimental than positive to the region. The EIS projects that dust pollution and impact on views will lower property values by an estimated 4.7 percent average for 576 private and 60 state-owned parcels within 5 miles of the mine site.