Casa Grande area property part of land exchange finalized for Pinal mine expansion
Casa Grande Dispatch
The Ray copper mine is located near Kearny in eastern Pinal County.
Mark Cocker/USGS
Officials last week marked the completion of a long-awaited federal land exchange that will allow for the expansion of an eastern Pinal County copper mine while adding to wilderness in three Arizona counties.
The land exchange involving nearly 18,000 acres, including more than 600 acres near Casa Grande, was 26 years in the making, officials said.
At the Yavapai County Courthouse Friday, Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt was joined by U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Prescott, Bureau of Land Management Arizona Director Ray Suazo and other public and private representatives to announce the transfer of lands between the BLM and the private company ASARCO through the Ray Land Exchange. This was the final step in the process that will also add riparian habitat and established wilderness areas in Pinal, Gila and Mohave counties.
