Lone Star Ore Body Development Project

WestLand Resources Inc. has been providing environmental support services to the Safford Mine in Graham County, Arizona since our company was founded in 1997. WestLand’s initial work included completion of the Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting for the opening of the Dos Pobres and San Juan pits at the mine, then operated by the Phelps Dodge Corporation. Our environmental support services at the operation have continued through the purchase of Phelps Dodge by Freeport-McMoRan Safford Inc. in 2005 and into the present. In 2017, WestLand completed Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting for the Lone Star Ore Body Development Project, which involved a mine expansion requiring a Section 404 Individual Permit and National Environmental Policy Act review of the project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Lone Star Ore Body Development Project included the new Lone Star open pit, heap leach pad, development rock stockpiles, the conveyance route between the pit and existing crusher, as well as several appurtenant features. WestLand’s role in the project included project management and planning, the development and preparation of the 404(b)(1) alternatives analysis, and senior review and approval of baseline environmental documentation for National Environmental Policy Act compliance. The Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting for the project was completed in three years, including National Environmental Policy Act review of the project through preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement. In addition to being the first U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-led Environmental Impact Statement completed in the state of Arizona, the permitting and review were completed well under the 5-year national average for similar projects.