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US Forest Service authorizes South32 Hermosa mine infrastructure in Arizona
The approval follows a July 7 federal decision that found the project would have the smallest disturbance footprint, enabling federal infrastructure work beyond the privately held mine area.
South32 Hermosa says the U.S. Forest Service has signed off on its Final Mine Plan of Operation, authorizing the company to conduct operations on U.S. Forest Service land at its Hermosa project in southern Arizona.
The Forest Service approval comes after it issued a Final Record of Decision on July 7, which found the project would have the smallest disturbance footprint and would minimize effects on environmental resources. The federal framework also covers ancillary infrastructure needed to develop the project beyond privately held land, including a primary access road, secondary drystack tailings storage, and other supporting operations.
Arizona had already permitted the mine itself, with construction on private land reached about the halfway mark. Federal approval covers infrastructure that crosses public land, including a high-voltage transmission line, a second access road, tailings storage, and water discharge points.
Hermosa is described as hosting one of the world’s largest undeveloped zinc deposits, a battery-grade manganese deposit, and the emerging Peak copper discovery. The project is expected to support a 70-year operation producing five federally designated critical minerals, with the company saying zinc mining underground is slated to begin in late 2027 and first zinc product from the processing plant is targeted for the first half of 2028, according to Mining.com. South32 also plans to begin initial earthworks and surveys in the coming weeks to support exploration drilling and geotechnical investigations.
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