The Florence Copper Community Foundation (FCCF) presented a $1,000 grant check to the Central Arizona College Foundation (CACF) to help fund its Promise For the Future program during the group’s weekly Coffee Club meeting on Aug. 6.
The ceremonial oversize check was presented by FCCF President Rebecca Rios to Margaret Dooley, CACF director, and Ashley Martinez, student currently benefiting from the Promise program. Promise For the Future is structured to encourage students throughout Pinal County to stay in high school and maintain at least a 2.75 grade point average in return for up to two years free tuition at Central Arizona College.
In presenting the check, Rios noted that for the FCCF’s fourth grant check of 2015 it designated that the recipient be for an educational project. After going through all the submitted grant requests, FCCF chose the Promise program for its proven ability to spur students to continue their educations and help those who might not be able to afford college to attend.
On accepting the grant check, Dooley thanked FCCF for supporting a worthy initiative.
“Since its establishment in 1968, CACF has had the goal of keeping young people not only from dropping out of high school but also pursuing a college education,” Dooley said.
“With the Promise For the Future program, a student signs a promise to complete all four years of high school with the goal of maintaining a minimum 2.75 grade point average on graduation. Students can pledge to achieve higher grade point averages for additional benefit. As part of the pledge, students also promise to perform 20 hours of community service,” she noted.
“In return for fulfilling their obligation under the Promise, Central Arizona College provides the student with a tuition waiver for up to four semesters at any of the College’s campuses (Coolidge, Apache Junction, Maricopa, San Tan Valley and Winkelman). Last year, the program awarded scholarships to more than 600 students,” Dooley explained.
Helping accept the check was Martinez, who is one of the students benefiting from a Promise scholarship.
“I never thought I could attend college, but through the Promise program I earned two years of free tuition by maintaining my promised 3.8 grade point average,” said Martinez, who resides in Florence. “I now plan to go into Central Arizona College’s nursing program and on graduation I plan to stay in the area and help the community.”
FCCF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization funding by Florence Copper and its parent company Taseko Mines Ltd. of Canada. The Foundation regularly funds projects the benefit Florence and surrounding communities. Earlier this year, FCCF awarded grants to the Florence Food Bank, the Copper Basin YMCA, and the Future Florence Foundation, the latter working on senior citizen housing.
Also during the Aug. 6 meeting, Don Johnson, general manager of Florence Copper, announced that the regulatory process for getting an underground injection permit the company’s in-situ copper recovery production test facility along Hunt Highway in north Florence. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) comment period that ended last April 30 went well for Florence Copper with testimony favoring the project far outweighing the four negative comments, and none of those comments gave Johnson “any pause.”
Johnson summed up the situation as “no longer if but when we get the EPA permit to begin tests. We could get that permit as early as late September.”
Florence Copper’s process differs from traditional mining operations as it doesn’t involve sending workers underground or moving earth for strip mines. Instead it uses the in-situ copper recovery process in which a solution consisting of 99.5% water and 0.5% sulfuric acid is injected deep underground through a concrete-encased well to dissolve copper far below the ground surface. The resulting copper-containing solution is pumped back to the surface using a series of extraction wells that control where the solution moves. The copper can then be extracted from the solution and formed into sheets that are more than 99% pure copper.
The in-situ process not only can extract copper from hundreds of feet underground without harming the surrounding environment or drinking water resources, but also produce copper at a cost less than half the current price copper sells for on commodity markets, Johnson said.
The EPA will allow Florence Copper to use the in-situ process at its production test facility for up to two years, after which EPA will access if the company can proceed with wider use of the process.