Copper World Project Funded
Hudbay prices US$52 million in municipal bonds to fund Arizona's Copper World project
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Hudbay Minerals has priced US$52 million in tax-exempt municipal bonds for its Copper World copper mine in Pima County, Arizona, at a 4.50% interest rate, the company announced June 17, 2026. The deal, issued through the Arizona Industrial Development Authority, is set to close June 24 and gives Hudbay low-cost financing to push the long-delayed project into active construction. GlobeNewswire
The bonds carry a 10-year initial term, with a mandatory tender date of July 2, 2036. Hudbay will funnel the gross proceeds to Copper World LLC to finance, reimburse, and refinance eligible spending at the site. At roughly 5% of Phase 1's estimated US$1.1 billion capital cost, the bonds are a first step — not the whole bill. Yahoo Finance
How a Mining Project Gets Tax-Exempt Bond Status
The bonds are officially called "Solid Waste Disposal Revenue Bonds." That name is not an accident. Under Section 142 of the U.S. tax code, bonds issued for solid waste facilities can be exempt from federal income tax. That tax break lets Hudbay offer investors a lower yield — 4.50% — than it would pay on taxable corporate debt. The savings over 10 years are real. GlobeNewswire
In practice, the money funds tailings storage and waste rock management systems at Copper World. Tailings are the crushed rock left over after copper is extracted. Hudbay plans to use "dry-stack" tailings, a more water-efficient method than the traditional wet ponds. Other major Arizona miners, including Freeport-McMoRan, have used the same Arizona Industrial Development Authority structure for similar projects. Markets Financial Content
Copper World Rose From the Wreckage of Rosemont
Copper World is not a new idea. It grew out of the Rosemont project, which a federal judge killed in 2019 after the U.S. Forest Service approval was vacated in court. Hudbay responded in 2021 by redrawing the project to sit almost entirely on private land. That move cut the federal permitting requirements and sidestepped the National Environmental Policy Act rules that had derailed Rosemont. GlobeNewswire
By late 2023, Hudbay had secured key state permits from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. In January 2025, Hudbay's board gave the official green light for Phase 1, projecting a 20-year mine life and annual copper production of 85,000 tonnes. The successful bond pricing now signals to markets that Copper World is no longer stuck in legal limbo. Yahoo Finance
Jobs and Tax Revenue Versus Water and Wildlife Concerns
Hudbay projects the mine will create about 400 permanent jobs and more than 1,000 construction positions. Over its lifetime, Copper World is expected to generate more than US$850 million in taxes for Arizona, according to the company's 2024 economic impact study. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce has cheered the deal as a win for domestic copper supply. GlobeNewswire
Critics are not cheering. The mine is expected to use between 4,500 and 6,000 acre-feet of water per year from the local aquifer. Activist group Save Santa Ritas called the bond structure "a semantic trick to use public-aligned mechanisms for private environmental degradation." Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva has raised concerns about the impact on the Davidson Canyon watershed. Goldea Capital
What a 4.50% Rate Tells Us About Market Confidence
Locking in sub-5% long-term debt for a mining project is not easy in the current rate environment. Financial analysts read the 4.50% rate as a sign that institutional investors see Copper World as a low-risk bet — either because the collateral is strong or because Hudbay's parent guarantee is solid. Markets Financial Content
If the deal closes as planned on June 24, it could open a door for other mid-tier mining companies. Using municipal bond authorities to fund environmental infrastructure — tailings, waste rock systems — could become a playbook for the broader U.S. "green mining" push. The Copper World bonds set a pricing benchmark others will now watch closely. Yahoo Finance
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