Hudbay Minerals Inc. announced a significant new discovery at its Copper World property near the proposed Rosemont Mine. In a statement, the company said the discovery, which is on private land, may prove to be a viable openpit operation with multiple pits on the west slope of the Santa Rita Mountains facing Green Valley and Sahuarita.

In the statement, Hudbay Minerals said the intersection of the deposit is high-grade copper sulphide and oxide mineralization and that it is a shallower depth than that of the Rosemont deposit.

“Copper World has the potential to host at least four economic deposits with a relatively low strip ratio and may prove to be a viable openpit operation that is either separate from or additive to our Rosemont project,” Cashel Meagher, Hudbay’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, said in the written statement.

Copper World is on the western slope of the Santa Rita Mountains southeast of Tucson, while Rosemont, site of a long proposed openpit copper mine, is on the east slope.

“This new discovery on our private land in Arizona demonstrates our team’s strong expertise in exploration,” Peter Kukielski, Hudbay’s president and chief executive officer, said in the company's news release. “They saw an opportunity to consolidate mineralization in the region and we are excited to continue to explore Copper World while remaining committed to advancing Rosemont through the appeals process.”

In 2018, a federal judge overturned the Rosemont Mine’s operating permit from the U.S. Forest Service, and that case is pending before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In 2021, Hudbay will continue mineralogical, metallurgical and geophysical studies of the Copper World region, which has a history of mining from 1874 to 1969, the news release said.

“Hudbay has a current exploration budget of approximately $10 million for its Arizona properties in 2021 which is likely to increase with further exploration success. Hudbay will review the results from its 2021 exploration program to determine the next steps for its Copper World properties and the potential synergies with Rosemont,” it added.