Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hermosa Project topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
South 32 updates Hermosa project timeline, monitoring and community commitments
Summary
Pat Reisner of South 32 provided a quarterly update to Santa Cruz County supervisors on construction progress, baseline water and air monitoring, voluntary well protection agreements and workforce training plans tied to a new workforce center in Nogales.
Pat Reisner, president of South 32 Hermosa Inc., told the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors that company construction is about 40% complete and that one Department of Defense-funded decline to access a manganese deposit is 67% complete. He said the company has not decided whether it will mine the manganese deposit and that any such decision depends on how the battery-technology market develops.
Reisner described voluntary baseline monitoring the company began in 2020–2021, saying South 32 has two to three years of private well baseline data within a five-mile radius of the project and an extensive network of vibrating-wire piezometers that provide real-time aquifer pressure and water-level readings. He said the company is offering voluntary “well protection” agreements intended to assure continuous water supply for residents near the project and stressed the agreements do not alter legal water rights.
“We have committed … ensuring continuous access to water is important and that we would guarantee that,” Reisner said, describing the voluntary agreements as additional protections beyond existing regulatory frameworks.
On air quality, Reisner said South 32 is running voluntary monitoring in Patagonia, Sonoita and Nogales focused on particulate metals such as lead and manganese to establish a baseline before hauling and operations increase. He said data would be made public and that the company is seeking to collaborate with university and community monitoring efforts.
Reisner provided workforce and community updates: South 32 has nearly 250 employees now, expects construction employment to peak near 1,000 later this year, and expects permanent operations staffing to reach about 800–900 at full production. He said South 32 signed a memorandum of understanding with the Santa Cruz Center (the county’s workforce training facility) to host training programs, and that the first cohort — an electrical certification run with Pima Community College — will start the day after the board meeting with 16 local students at no cost.
He described the Centro workforce facility’s expected completion in late 2026 or early 2027 and said the company has committed to a goal that at least 80% of permanent hires will be local residents. Reisner also summarized the federal environmental review schedule: public comments on the Coronado National Forest draft EIS closed in June; the Forest Service is preparing responses with a final EIS expected in February 2026 and a record of decision in July 2026.
Board members and residents asked about the community protection and benefit agreement (CPBA) process, public review and transparency; Reisner said signatories are discussing how to make draft language more transparent before finalizing it and that topic-based focus groups and additional public engagements are under way.
Reisner said the company has increased local procurement and run a vendor-readiness program with the Nogales Chamber of Commerce. He also said a Hermosa Community Foundation provides grants to Santa Cruz County nonprofits.
