‘We are the guinea pigs’: Arizona mining project sparks concerns for air and water

South32's project was fast-tracked by the Biden administration, but residents are worried about its impact on a fragile ecosystem

Growing up on both sides of the Arizona-Mexico border, Denise Moreno Ramirez got respite from the border town bustle by hiking through sycamore and juniper trees in the mountains near her home. These isolated mountains - known as the Sky Islands - provide a crucial habitat for native plants and animals, but also played a special role in Moreno Ramirez's family history: like many in the area with Indigenous Yaqui or Mayo origins, her ancestors once mined the mountains for precious metals.

Moreno Ramirez's great-grandfather, Alberto Moreno, dug for copper when he first came to Arizona from Mexico in the early 1900s. He found that the mining industry powered the state economy and put food on his table; eventually his son - Moreno Ramirez's grandfather - followed suit and worked in the mines, too.