Unlike the local Mission and Sierrita mines that have rail, the proposed Copper World mine will unleash a torrent of heavy trucks traveling through Sahuarita and across 7.7 miles of the unpaved Santa Rita Road through the environmentally significant Santa Rita Experimental Range. Most major U.S. copper mines have access to rail to transport material from the mine site. Copper World, which would be the fourth largest copper mine in the U.S. producing 85,000 tons/year, does not have rail access and instead plans to exclusively use heavy trucks. Exactly how many trucks is unknown. Copper World’s owner, Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals, recently told a Tucson newspaper it's too soon to provide "precise traffic estimates." But the public can use environmental studies for the Rosemont Mine, which is now part of Copper World, to generate an estimate. A 2013 Rosemont environmental report provides a ballpark estimate revealing that Copper World will need approximately 110 one-way heavy truck trips each day to operate the mine. That’s one truck every 15 minutes, or 40,150 one-way truck trips a year. Hudbay plans to operate the mine around the clock for at least 20 years, and likely decades longer. How will this heavy truck traffic impact Sahuarita? Hudbay states in a 2023 technical report that access to the mine is across heavily traveled E. Sahuarita Rd and the Santa Rita Road. This means Copper World's heavy trucks would bisect Sahuarita's main commercial corridor, increasing danger to traffic going to Sahuarita’s elementary, middle and high schools, recreational facilities, churches and government offices. The trucks will carry copper concentrate, diesel fuel, and other hazardous chemicals and explosives. Hudbay also plans to modify its production process in the fifth year that could result in trucks hauling millions of pounds of sulfuric acid . The heavy truck traffic will likely result in more frequent traffic accidents, injuries, and deaths, according to a 2011 Rosemont environmental report. The heavy trucks are in addition to daily commuter traffic for more than 1,200 workers during two years of construction and about 500 during operation. Pima County warned state environmental regulators last September that Hudbay’s truck traffic over the unpaved Santa Rita Road could “drastically increase” dust and potentially violate clean air standards. There is no question Copper World's relentless heavy truck traffic will create a significant public nuisance that threatens the health and safety of residents in the area. Yet, the state, Pima County, and the Town of Sahuarita have not released even a rudimentary traffic impact study, while Hudbay remains silent. Hudbay originally planned to construct the Rosemont Mine and its processing facilities on the eastern flank of the Santa Rita Mountains. All mine-related truck traffic would have come off State Route 83 between Vail and Sonoita. Hudbay subsequently expanded the Rosemont mine plan to include several small pits on the west side of the Santa Rita Mountains. Hudbay changed the project’s name to Copper World. Hudbay also shifted all mine processing facilities to the mountain's western flank. As a result, all of Copper World's truck traffic must travel through Sahuarita on the way to Interstate-19. Hudbay hasn’t been required to disclose truck traffic because Copper World will be constructed on private land. But prior to Hudbay purchasing the Rosemont site in 2014, the previous owner, Augusta Resource Corp., planned to dump mining waste on the Coronado National Forest on the mountain’s eastern flank. Federal laws required Augusta to pay for an Environmental Impact Statement that was released in 2013. This report now provides a crucial window into understanding how many of Copper World's heavy trucks will travel through Sahuarita. The 2013 environmental study projected that Rosemont would generate 69 daily round trips of heavy trucks hauling copper concentrate and other materials on SR 83. An earlier version of the report released in 2011 projected a dramatic increase in traffic accidents and deaths from Rosemont's truck traffic on SR 83. The study states: A corresponding decrease in traffic safety would occur that may result in 61 to 107 accidents per year (from current rate of roughly 30 accidents per year), with a fatality occurring between one and two times per year (from a current rate of roughly one fatality every 3 years). How does this data relate to Copper World’s impact on Sahuarita? Copper World’s daily operations will produce copper at a 20% lower rate than what was planned for Rosemont, according to Copper World’s and Rosemont’s mining plans. Reducing Rosemont’s 69 truck roundtrips by 20% results in Copper World needing approximately 55 roundtrips per day, or 110 one-way trips. Hudbay wants the public to bear increased health and safety risks to fuel its profits. Copper World’s lack of rail and its total reliance on heavy trucks is irresponsible and unacceptable. Hudbay’s truck traffic coverup is definitive proof that Copper World is a terrible project that must be stopped. Note: background photo is of a haul truck at Hudbay's Constancia mine in Peru. Courtesy John Dougherty Stan's op-ed is courtesy of Green Valley News.