UA SRP Attends Apache Leap Mining Festival in Superior, AZ
March 14, 2015
The University of Arizona Superfund Research Program (UA SRP) attended the 27th Annual Apache Leap Mining Festival in Superior, AZ on March 14, 2015. The weekend-long event was hosted by Resolution Copper Mining, with a theme of “Celebrating Mining in the Copper Communities.” It brought together the Arizona “copper corridor” communities of Superior, Miami, Globe, Kearny, Hayden, Winkleman, Mammoth, Florence, Dudleyville, San Manuel, and Oracle. Superior, a historical mining town, is the site of a proposed mine, which would develop one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits, which sits more than a mile below the surface.
The UA SRP was invited to the event by the President of the Superior Chamber of Commerce, after meeting research translation coordinator Dr. Sarah Wilkinson at the AZ Mining Day at the Capitol a few weeks before.
At the Apache Leap Festival, Wilkinson staffed the UA SRP information booth, providing informational materials on various contaminants, as well as the ever-popular Arizona Know Your Water and Well Owner’s booklets. The festival included a parade, musical acts and other entertainment, a Chihuahua race, and a mining competition with a $2000 purse! This lively event was “a great opportunity to meet new Arizona community members impacted by mining,” said Wilkinson, “and I enjoyed eating a giant order of ribbon fries!”