The Rosemont mine project, south of Tucson, initialy planned in 2014 is the founding event of the Pima County observatory. The mine has estimated copper reserves of 2.7 Bt, which can potentially represent more than 10% of US production. This mine should be exploited using new environmental treatment and water recycling techniques. The environmentally sustainable development of this mine will be compared with that of other mines to compare:
- Ecological effects on groundwater, biodiversity, soil use, the air quality, etc.
- The health, economic and social impact on the surrounding population (residential communities, urban peripheries expanding reserves).
The aim is to shed light on the interactions and dynamics at the heart of socio-ecological and socio-economic set up on the research object.