Arizona’s $3.3 Billion Mine Moves Ahead as Fight Over Water and Wildlife Continues

A $3.3 billion mine planned for southern Arizona can continue construction work while a federal court considers a challenge to its environmental approvals, placing a project important to American mineral supplies at the center of a dispute over groundwater and wildlife habitat.

U.S. District Judge Raner Collins denied a request for a preliminary injunction on November 6 against South32’s Hermosa Critical Minerals Project near Patagonia. The ruling means approved infrastructure work, including a road and power transmission facilities, may proceed during the lawsuit. It does not resolve the environmental groups’ claims or give the project a final legal victory.

Hermosa is intended to produce zinc, silver, lead and manganese in the Patagonia Mountains of Santa Cruz County. The planned manganese production has made it especially important to federal officials seeking to reduce reliance on imported materials used in steel and advanced batteries.

Why Washington is watching an Arizona mine

The United States currently relies on imports for its manganese supply. Battery-grade manganese is used in certain advanced lithium-ion batteries, while the metal also has established industrial and defense applications. China dominates global refining capacity for manganese used in batteries.

Federal backing reflects that strategic interest. The project has received $20 million through the Defense Production Act and a $166.2 million Energy Department award intended to accelerate production and refining.

The federal government’s November 10 explanation of the ruling emphasizes the importance of developing a domestic manganese source. South32, meanwhile, has promoted Hermosa as a long-term industrial investment that could bring jobs and tax revenue to southern Arizona.

Those projected economic benefits remain estimates. The mineral production, workforce and community effects will depend on construction, permitting, market conditions and the project’s eventual operating performance.

The environmental lawsuit is far from over

The Forest Service approved the mine’s plan of operations in July after an environmental review involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Approved work extends activity from private land onto approximately 423 acres of Coronado National Forest land.

Environmental organizations challenge aspects of the federal review, including its consideration of groundwater and habitat effects. The Patagonia Mountains support sensitive wildlife, and the planned roads, power infrastructure and mining-related development have raised concerns about how industrial activity could affect a connected landscape.

The federal court’s November 6 order found that the plaintiffs had not made the showing required for preliminary relief, particularly concerning immediate, irreparable harm from the limited work expected while the case is heard. The court also denied the company’s separate request to strike the groups’ declarations.

The judge explicitly left the underlying legal claims unresolved and instructed the parties to propose an expedited schedule. That distinction matters: permission to keep working during litigation is not a ruling that every environmental approval was lawful.

Environmental groups continue to raise concerns about groundwater, public land and federally protected species, Arizona Public Media reported. South32 maintains that environmental safeguards and project design changes address community concerns, including traffic and water management.

The federal approval includes more than 400 conditions and mitigation requirements. The court has yet to decide the environmental groups’ underlying legal claims.