Rimrock, AZ—InvestigativeMEDIA’s documentary “Flin Flon Flim Flam” reveals the controversial history of Toronto-based miner Hudbay Minerals Inc. that is now seeking state and federal permits to construct a massive open-pit copper mine in the habitat of the nation’s only known jaguar.
A new video capturing the movements of the jaguar named El Jefe released this week is attracting widespread media attention. The video was produced and released by the Center for Biological Diversity and Conservation CATalyst.
Photo by Jonathan Troung
The jaguar video comes just weeks after InvestigativeMEDIA released “Flin Flon Flim Flam” on the worldwide operations of Hudbay Minerals and its plans to construct the Rosemont mine on the Coronado National Forest in the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson, Arizona.
The documentary exposes Hudbay’s history of operating Canada’s most polluting copper smelter, the company’s alleged atrocities in Guatemala where it stands accused in a Toronto civil trial of murder, gang rapes and a shooting that left a man paralyzed, as well as the company’s conflicts with indigenous people in Peru.
The biologically-rich Santa Rita Mountains host a dozen endangered species including the jaguar. The proposed copper mine would destroy more than 3,000 acres of Coronado National Forest and render the northern half of the Santa Rita Mountains useless for recreation, according to the Arizona Game & Fish Department.
“The Rosemont Mine would destroy El Jefe’s home and severely hamstring recovery of jaguars in the United States,” said Randy Serraglio, conservation advocate with the Center. “The Santa Rita Mountains are critically important to jaguar recovery in this country, and they must be protected.”
Hudbay still needs a state Air Quality Control Permit, a federal Clean Water Act permit, and final approval from the U.S. Forest Service before the mine could proceed.