Judge Refuses to Halt Arizona's Hermosa Critical Minerals Mine but Leaves Jaguar and Ocelot Question Open

A federal judge in Arizona has refused to pause work on the Hermosa Critical Minerals Project, a manganese and zinc mining project near Patagonia, Ariz., that would expand onto national forest land, while two environmental groups challenge the federal approvals behind it. The Digital Free Press read the 18-page order, which leaves one of the groups' central wildlife arguments undecided.

U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins denied the preliminary injunction sought by the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity in an order dated Nov. 6. The groups sued the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in September. The mine's developer, South32 Hermosa Inc., and UNS Electric, which is building a power line for the project, joined the case on the government's side. The Justice Department announced the ruling Tuesday.

What the Judge Found on the Hermosa Project

According to the order, the project targets zinc, silver, lead and manganese and would expand mining onto about 423 acres of national forest land. It needs a new main access road, a second tailings storage facility, water lines, haul roads and the UNS Electric transmission line.

Collins rested the ruling largely on what will happen in the coming year. The order says South32's planned work over the next 12 months consists of geotechnical studies, limited exploration drilling, work in already disturbed areas and safety fencing. It says drilling along the future access road covers about 45 locations and "less than one acre of new disturbance," some reached by helicopter, and that construction of the second tailings facility "will not begin until 2028."

Against that, the judge wrote, the groups' "showing of likely irreparable injury does not adequately distinguish the limited work expected during merits review from the effects of the completed Project."

He also rejected, for now, the groups' claim that the project "was rushed though environmental review," noting that consultation between the agencies began in December 2023 and that Fish and Wildlife issued its biological opinion on Feb. 26, 2026.

The Jaguar and Ocelot Question Left Open

The groups argue that the wildlife agency's incidental take statement for jaguars and ocelots allows unlimited harassment of the animals. Collins found they had not shown they were likely to win that point "on the present record," but wrote that the court "does not finally decide" whether the agency's limits meet the legal requirement "to specify an enforceable extent of take." He said even if the issue raises "serious questions," the groups had not shown irreparable harm from the near-term work.

The order also notes that the power line could be finished while the case is pending. UNS Electric began construction Sept. 8, 2026, and the line would disturb about 24.7 acres of national forest land, including about 16 acres of permanent vegetation removal, according to the order.

On the other side of the scale, the order cites South32's projection of about 2,400 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Santa Cruz County, and says the project is covered by FAST-41, a federal permitting law that requires courts to weigh job losses from an injunction.

What Comes Next

The ruling "does not resolve Plaintiffs' claims on the merits," the order states. Collins gave the parties 14 days to propose an expedited briefing schedule.

In its release, the Justice Department said the United States "relies entirely on imports of manganese," with China providing about 95% of global refining capacity for battery-grade manganese. "Manganese is indispensable to our national defense," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the department's Energy and Natural Resources Division.

Sources: Order denying preliminary injunction, Patagonia Area Resource Alliance v. United States Forest Service, No. 4:26-cv-00496-RCC (D. Ariz.), Dkt. 32, Nov. 6, 2026 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.azd.1521121/gov.uscourts.azd.1521121.32.0_1.pdf); case docket on CourtListener (https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74869887/patagonia-area-resource-alliance-v-united-states-forest-service/); U.S. Department of Justice press release, "Arizona Federal Court Denies Request to Halt Hermosa Critical Minerals Project," Nov. 10, 2026 (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/arizona-federal-court-denies-request-halt-hermosa-critical-minerals-project). Cover photo: oak woodland in the Patagonia Mountains near Mowry, Arizona, by The Old Pueblo, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).