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Developer says Hermosa project will use far less fresh water, offers voluntary well-protection plan
Summary
South32/Grama representatives told the Nogales City Council the Hermosa project is 40% into construction, will deploy new water- and air-monitoring programs, and is offering voluntary agreements to ensure local private wells keep supply if mining affects them.
Pat Reisner, president of Grama, updated the Nogales City Council on the Hermosa mining project on Sept. 3, saying construction is about 40% complete and the company expects to use significantly less fresh water in operations than traditional mines.
The company presented what it called a voluntary well-protection program for private well owners within a five-mile radius of the mine, baseline and ongoing air monitoring, and a workforce-training plan that the company said is intended to prioritize local hires.
The voluntary well-protection plan will monitor private wells and, if mine activity were ever shown to reduce a property’s supply, the company said it would pay to deepen or relocate wells so residents retain continuous water service. “We voluntarily offered to monitor wells within a five-mile radius before any activity on site,” Pat Reisner said. “Should our activities impact your well, at our expense we will ensure you have continuous supply of water.”
Why it matters: Residents near the Patagonia Mountains have raised concerns about groundwater, air quality and traffic from the project. The developer said it is deploying more monitoring than legally required and hopes that data will reassure neighbors that the operation will not reduce well levels or increase air metals.
Key facts and timeline: Reisner said the project has 100 piezometers and has collected baseline well data since about 2021; at the time of his presentation groundwater levels were roughly where they were two years earlier. He said the operation will deploy air monitors in the community and along transport routes, and that ADEQ will hold a public hearing on air-permit updates Sept. 25. He repeated that the U.S. EPA had not revoked the project’s permit and that EPA requested five recordkeeping and reporting updates, which ADEQ has made.
Employment and training: The company said it has about 250 direct employees now and will add roughly 70 in the next 12 months, with a larger ramp beginning in mid-2026 and a multi-year increase to several hundred more. An electrician certification program run with the county provisional community college has 16 students in the first cohort, the company said, and it expects to train more people than it will directly hire so others in the community gain new skills.
Community benefits and permits: Reisner described ongoing work on a community protection and benefits agreement that would contractually commit the company to protections and social investments beyond regulatory requirements. He also said the Forest Service environmental impact statement comment period closed in June and that the agency’s responses and final decisions are scheduled on a multi-month timetable.
Council reaction and follow-up: Council members pressed the company on details of the well-protection agreements and the legal effect on water rights; Reisner said the agreements are voluntary and do not change existing water rights. He said the company is updating the agreement language to increase clarity and would continue community engagement. Reisner said he expected the community-protection agreement draft to be available to signatories before the end of the year.
