What matters more — people or mines?

Regarding the recent article, “Residents blame health woes, deaths on mines,” these days mining looks bad in Utah, with several workers killed in a cave-in. While that mine’s corporate owner was pushing to open again, for families those wounds will never close.

Mining looks bad in Indiana, too, where three workers recently fell to their deaths. Arizona mining families in Morenci have been told that if they don’t like their formaldehyde-laced trailers, they can leave. Meanwhile, two girls in Chloride fell into an abandoned mine, and one died.

But in Sun City and nearby communities, mines never had it so good. Multinational corporations along the Agua Fria riverbed own more than 26 working mines, some within feet of homes and schools. Owners owe nothing to those left in the dust of their profit. We inhale this dust and jagged particulates every day. No one tells us about its impact.

Our county supervisors do tell us, though, that Arizona is a mining state . While this news falls hard as a ton of gravel, we need to know what really matters, mines or people. They do not mix and like others we read about, we are dying from mining, too.

Frances K. Thomas

Sun City