Investigative journalist John Dougherty’s documentary about Hudbay Minerals, the new owners of the proposed Rosemont Copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains, will be coming to your living room this weekend.
Flin Flon Flim Flam, which explores Hudbay’s history in its native Canada, as well as its operations in Latin America, will show at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, on KGUN-9.
Here’s how Dougherty describes the film:
InvestigativeMEDIA turns its unflinching focus on Canadian miner Hudbay Minerals Inc. and its controversial plans to construct the massive Rosemont open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains on the Coronado National Forest southeast of Tucson. InvestigativeMEDIA’s John Dougherty documents Hudbay’s legacy of lead poisoning in a remote Manitoba community where the company operated a notorious copper smelter for 80 years. He then turns to Hudbay’s former operations in Guatemala where the company stands accused of murder, rape and shootings in a precedent setting civil trial. Dougherty travels to the Peruvian Andes documenting indigenous villagers occupying a mine site after Peruvian police beat and teargased protesters angry over Hudbay’s failure to abide by an agreement. Dougherty uncovers Hudbay’s misleading statements over its proposed Rosemont copper project and the ecological treasure that would be destroyed if the mine were constructed.
A few points of full disclosure: The film was paid for by Farmers Investment Company, which owns pecan groves in Sahuarita and whose owners, Dick and Nan Walden, are opposed the plan for a mile-wide open-pit mine in the Santa Ritas, although they did not have editorial input into the film. Dougherty’s journalism nonprofit, the Arizona Center for Investigative Journalism, serves as a fiscal sponsor for your Skinny scribe’s own nonprofit, the Arizona Watchdog Alliance, which funds Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel. Dougherty talks about the latest on the Rosemont project with me ahead of the documentary as part of the hour-long special edition of Zona Politics.
This article appears in Dec 10-16, 2015.
Damned if we do and damned if we don’t! These pecan growers are as nutty and just as bad for our state’s environmental future as the mine is. They destroyed a ton of vital riparian habitat to build out their orchards and our state keeps issuing permits for more groves to be planted as CA nut growers are moving their operations here after pumping Cali dry.
Let’s be honest, this is a war for water between pecan growers and a mining operation. This film is just another salvo, neither party gives two pecans or pennies about our environment or threatened animal habitat.
At least you are honest about your financial relationship with this guy and his biased, industry funded ‘documentary’
I don’t see this listed on the current TV listings at that time. Must have time wrong.
Your disclaimer says it all. It would be like Shell oil funding a documentary on energy production. I would like to get the straight scoop.