Small Town News

Resolution President/CEO Salisbury shares views with community on land exchange progress

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On Wednesday, December 16, 2009, our land exchange legislation took a significant step forward. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the United States Senate "marked up" the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act (S.409), which means the full committee reviewed the bill, considered changes and voted on amendments to the legislation.

This milestone would not have been reached without the tireless work of Senator John McCain and his staff along with many stakeholders from Superior and our surrounding communities.

Final passage of the bill is not certain but we are moving in the right direction. We will work with Senator McCain, Representative Kirkpatrick and the rest of the delegation to ensure the bill continues to progress through Congress.

While the bill continues to move through the legislative process, we want you to be aware of some changes that were made as the Senate committee prepared for the mark-up. These changes were a result of thoughtful discussions and negotiations between Senator McCain, committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman from New Mexico, committee staff and Resolution Copper.

The amended language of S.409 assures appropriate public participation, protects stakeholder interests and provides Resolution Copper flexibility and a certainty that allows the project to move forward.

The revised bill requires Resolution Copper to complete an Environmental Impact Statement in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and calls for Government-to-Government consultation with our Native American neighbors before the exchange is completed. It also allows Resolution Copper to drill under the campground in order to better understand the size and character of the ore body so we can complete our General Mine Plan of Operations.

In order to guarantee that a new campground will be built near

Superior, the replacement campground language was removed from the current legislation. There was no guarantee that the United States Forest Service would chose to locate a new campground near Superior, and there was also the possibility that the money committed by Resolution Copper for the construction of the new campground would be used to upgrade existing campgrounds within the Tonto National Forest.

We intend to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Town of Superior to guarantee that Resolution Copper will locate and build a new campground near Superior once the land exchange is completed. This agreement with the Town will outline a public/private partnership process to determine the location of a new campground and how it will be operated.

Before completion of the land trade, the current legislation requires an appraiser to determine the value the land we are giving to the United States and the land we are receiving. If our land is worth more, we will donate the excess value to the United States. If the land we receive is worth more, we can either write a check to the United States treasury or donate more land to equalize the value of the land exchange. This will give us the opportunity to work with stakeholders during the NEPA process to identify additional lands in Arizona that could be preserved, protected and used for additional recreational opportunities.

All of us at Resolution Copper Mining appreciate the dedication and support demonstrated by so many Arizonans. We remain committed to working with our stakeholders and the community to build an environmentally sensitive project that will provide much-needed economic development and jobs.

If you have any questions about the bill, please visit www.sccurearizonasfuture.com in the coming days, where you will find the markup language and more extensive analysis of the changes. Sincerely, David Salisbury President and CEO Resolution Copper Mining



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