We would like to question Greg Lucero’s statement that Arizona Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver will be a good neighbor. “Wildcat Silver will be a good neighbor,” [NI 10/16/2012]
Mr. Lucero is the Vice-president of Sustainability of Arizona Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver. One would think that he should know that they would be good neighbors. In fact, he has no background in mining, environmental science or ecology. He can only be guided by the companies past practices. This might be a problem. Arizona Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver has never run a mining operation before. Though their executives have all worked in the mining industry for various other companies, they have never run an operation from start to finish.
We can look at the history of their executives. Five of the executives from Arizona Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver are also on the executive board of Augusta Resources. The documentary “Cyanide Beach” brought into question the business decisions of these same executives in abandoning a mining project and leaving a small town in Sardinia, Italy with a toxic nightmare. The Patagonia Mountains are a precious resource for Santa Cruz county that must be protected, not only for their value as the watershed for the community of Patagonia but for ecological reasons as well. It would be one thing if Arizona Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver had experience operating a mine with a successful closure and reclamation of a mining project in its portfolio, but they do not. Apparently, neither do their executives.
The company does own one property here in Santa Cruz county but its corporate office is in Denver. Only Mr. Lucero lives in Santa Cruz county, the rest of management is in Denver and Vancouver, Canada.
Arizona Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver did open a new facility in Patagonia with much fanfare and a big check to our volunteer fire department. They plan to use it to store drilling core samples. “Wildcat mining inaugurates new facility” [Weekly Bulletin 10/17/2012] We have some problems about their choice of locations. The new Arizonarizona Mining Inc / Wildcat Silver facility is located within a residential neighborhood and across the street from a school. In fact, traffic will pass by two schools to get there. It’s a route shared with children walking or biking to school with narrow streets and blind curves. Let’s hope they observe the posted speed limit of 15 mph.
Why not store core samples on their private land near the drilling operations? Why risk the safety of the children and residents near their new facility in town? What does that tell you? Good neighbors, in name only.
