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Excelsior’s Gunnison Mine would provide millions for schools, tax relief: study

Last updated: 15:09 10 Apr 2018 EDT, First published: 10:09 10 Apr 2018 EDT

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A tour of the processing equipment at Excelsior's Gunnison Copper Project

Project developers often assert that their work will bring significant financial benefits to local communities, and a recently released study focusing on Excelsior Mining’s (TSE:MIN) Gunnison Copper Project shows that such benefits can be very meaningful indeed.

Located in Cochise County, Arizona, Gunnison could generate up to US$21.2mln in cash for local schools and Cochise County College through property tax payments and other contributions between 2018 and 2028, according to Arizona research firm Elliott D. Pollack & Company. 

Homeowners in Cochise County would also realize value from the project, as the company is estimated to become responsible for approximately two-thirds of annual property tax income.  Arizona school districts collect revenue through property taxes, their rates set annually based on budgeted needs and the net assessed value of combined property within their district.

“This will create property tax savings for homeowners, businesses, and other property owners in the district. A lower tax burden helps families and businesses save, invest, and spend additional money in their local economy,” said study author Dan Court, Elliott D. Pollack & Company’s Principal & Senior Economist.

The $21.2mln estimate includes neither job creation, which would also be substantial, nor economic benefits already realized by the county.

When Excelsior bought the Johnson Camp Mine in 2015, it made a large payment to settle back taxes owed by former property owners. The Cochise Elementary School District received approximately $1mln and the payment resulted in Cochise Elementary School District’s property tax rate falling by 45% in 2016, or an average of $145.

In reaching its conclusions, Pollack & Company considered property tax and school district levies from the Safford Unified School District in Arizona’s Graham County, home to one of the newest copper mines in Arizona.  “Thanks to the Safford Mine, the total net assessed value in the Safford Unified School District actually peaked in 2014 and 2015 at a time when home values were at their lowest point following the recession,” the report stated.

The Safford Mine is operated by copper mining giant Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX).

Excelsior’s Gunnison Copper Project has already obtained its state permit and is now waiting for the final permit it requires, from the federal government’s Environmental Protection Agency.  All going according to plan, Gunnison would commence commercial production around the end of 2018.

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