TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Opponents of a copper mine proposed for southern Arizona are urging the U.S. Forest Service to consider the impact the mine would have on nearby families.

A public hearing Saturday at Sahuarita High School featured 60 speakers with most opposing the proposed mile-wide open pit mine located in the Santa Rita Mountains.

One of those speaking against the mine, Mylan Webb, 16, lives about five miles from the mine site. She recited a list of blights that her rural community already has, including a gravel mine and abandoned mine shafts.

"We will have the trucks. We will have the dust. We will have the leftover mess," Webb said.

Officials with Augusta Resource Corp., the Canadian company that's hoping to open the mine, said it will bring jobs paying $60,000 a year to the community.

More than 100 locals are already employed planning for the mine, mostly in Tucson consulting firms, said Jamie Sturgess, vice president for sustainable development for Augusta.

Several speakers noted that much of the copper would be for the Asian market, which Sturgess conceded.

"Even if our copper does go to China, there's other products that come back that we do use that contain that copper," he said.

"There are thousands of people who would be directly or indirectly employed by the mine," he said.

"They're not here because we don't know who they are yet," he said.

The Forest Service has said it will hold one more hearing about the proposed mine at 6 p.m. June 30 at Tucson's Rincon High School.

---

Information from: Tucson Citizen, http://www.tucsoncitizen.com

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.