Phelps Dodge Corporation, the state of New Mexico and
environmentalists remain locked in a conflict over the cleanup of
an open-pit copper mine in southern New Mexico.
In March,
the New Mexico Environment Department approved a draft permit for
the Chino Mine near Silver City, the fourth-largest copper mine in
the country, with a suggested bond of $390 million. According to
the 1993 New Mexico Mining Act, hard-rock mining companies must
post bonds to cover cleanup costs in the event they go bankrupt
(HCN, 12/3/01: A struggling mountain town looks for a lift).
Silver City-based Gila Resources Information Project has
already appealed the Chino permit, saying the plan is too lenient.
According to the group’s director, Harry Browne, the plan
would allow the company to remove only some of the contaminants
from water at the site, diluting the rest with fresh groundwater.
“Dilution is not the solution to pollution,” says
Browne.
The permit will gain final approval once the
water-quality plan has passed muster with the state and the company
has guaranteed a bond. But Phelps Dodge, the nation’s largest
producer of copper and molybdenum, hopes to avoid posting bonds at
all, and has lobbied for state legislation that would allow it to
offer a third-party guarantee — money offered by the company
on behalf of its subsidiaries — instead of a bond. According
to Phelps spokesman Richard Peterson, large surety bonds
haven’t been available since September 11, 2001. “The
bonds cannot be obtained under any circumstances anywhere on Planet
Earth,” says Peterson.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Phelps tries to dodge bond.
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