Truth or Consequences Mayor Rolf Hechler’s nonspeak on the supposed nonposition of the city commission on whether it’s for or against the Copper Flat Mine is part of the city’s regular half-page ad it takes out with the Sentinel in the Nov. 6 edition.
Of course T or C citizens are paying for this propaganda that purposely confuses the reader into thinking the “City Blueprint” section is real news.
This erasure of journalism’s check-and-balance function to hold the government accountable and government’s obligation to not use public funds to promote itself or special interests is part and parcel of the corporatization of the media and government.
Hechler’s ad/article is taken from his reply to the Citizen’s questions, which were spurred after he gave a brief “report” on Copper Flat at an October city commission meeting.
My problem with Hechler’s report or update on Copper Flat is that he does not seem to know that he is presenting only Copper Flat’s version of reality and that this version is biased.
Hechler says he is going to invite Copper Flat to present around the first of the year. The company presented several months ago. No questions from the people were allowed or even considered. The city commission certainly asked no hard questions.
Hechler doesn’t seem to realize that giving Copper Flat an unquestioned platform is promoting the company.
I found this statement by Hechler alarming in its passivity and trust in government and technological advances to safeguard the people and the environment:
“As technology advances, I trust that environmental safeguards will continue to improve. I also acknowledge that I am not a mining expert and rely on the technical and scientific expertise that guides both industry practices and regulatory oversight. The State’s permitting process is designed to evaluate these impacts thoroughly.”
Does he not know that Copper Flat is an unremediated brownfield from the last company’s mining operations that were overseen and permitted by our government? Does he not know about the vast pollution caused by our government at nearby Holloman Airforce Base and of countless other examples near and far?
Hechler’s offer to send my questions to Copper Flat’s Stephen Crosby shows the same alarming trust in this company.
I asked him to advocate for the state Mining and Minerals Division to hold a public hearing on Copper Flat’s mining permit application and he did not respond, even after I pointed out that waiting until after the first of the year would be too late to start thinking about taking a position on Copper Flat. The deadline for requesting a public hearing, according to the MMD, is Nov. 15–tomorrow.
This sort of “trust” by our elected officials begs the rhetorical question: “What do we need you for?” If you aren’t going to act as a check on corporations but rather unwittingly give them promotional platforms, if you are not going to advocate for the people to question the corporation’s methods and operations and to question the sufficiency of the governments’ permitting restrictions and allowances, what do we need you for?
Hechler claims he hasn’t taken a position yet on Copper Flat, but he has. He has given them an unquestioned platform in the past, framing them as a trustworthy informant, confirmed by “reporting” the company’s update in a city commission meeting and now announcing in the Sentinel that he plans to invite the company back in January.
He has stood by and done nothing to advocate for a public hearing, preferring to “trust” the government permitting process. As if our government has never catered to corporations over people and the environment.
Please find the full exchange between the Citizen and Hechler below:
Oct. 28
Hello Mayor Hechler,
I hope you are well.
You may recall that I am a reporter for the Sierra County Citizen. I wonder if you could answer some questions about the comments you made during your Oct. 13 report concerning the Copper Flat Mine?
You said something about this project moving forward again. Were you referring to the application for a mining permit?
You indicated that this is a good thing, I think. If so, can you explain why you are in favor of the mine opening again?
I think past city commissions passed a resolution expressing support for the mine and then passed a second resolution withdrawing support for the mine. Will this city commission pass a resolution to make it clear where it stands on the mine?
Are you aware that the mine will use more water in a year than the whole city of Truth or Consequences, even with the reduced water use in the dry-stack method? Please give your thoughts.
Are you aware that the company is currently owned by an Australian family and therefore the majority of the profits will go out of the country? Your thoughts please.
Are you aware that there are no guarantees that locals will be hired or that mine workers will take up residence in the county? That the Australian company specializes in putting up temporary trailer parks with company grocery stores to service mining operations? If you are in support of the mine because of jobs and trickle down, what if that trickle down is captured on site by Themac? Without guarantees, and the company is not required to give any, on what do you base your support?
I think estimates for the life of this mine’s operations have varied widely, from six to 20 years, making this a boom/bust impact on resources and the local economy. Have you considered that?
Have you considered the enormous use of electricity that is needed in the dry-stack method? What effect will this have on local resources and the local economy?
The dry-stack method will cause air and water pollution. What effect will this have on the people? Do you know how much money is being put aside to deal with possible pollution remediation? Historically such monies are woefully inadequate to remediate brownfields.
I hope you have carefully researched the possible impacts the Copper Flat Mine will have on the area, since you are expressing support as the people’s representative without first sounding out their views–at least not in the public square, the only legitimate place to build public consensus or to gauge public disapproval. As mayor, you speak for the city. Have you gathered public consensus?
Did you say that Copper Flat is going to be publicly traded? It is currently publicly traded on the Canadian stock exchange.
I have heard from people who have followed Copper Flat’s efforts to reopen for 10 years or so, who claim the Australian family doesn’t have the money or desire to build the massive four-story building and attendant copper extraction operation that this expensive dry-stack method requires. They think the current owners will sell Copper Flat, made salable by acquiring the mining permit. If the operation is sold, then the vague promises made by Senior Vice President Stephen Crosby many months ago become moot. Your comments on this scenario, please.
It is important that local officials use their weight and influence to request that public hearings be held concerning the mining permit, so all the issues can be weighed in public. Will you make such a request, or propose a resolution that supports a public hearing on the mining permit that can be submitted to the mining and minerals division?
If you prefer to respond via telephone, please call me at 575.297.4146.
I’d appreciate a response by the end of business Thursday, if at all possible.
If you do not have time to respond by then, could you please confirm if you said Copper Flat is to be publicly traded or is going out for IPO, and if so, what you meant by that? Did you mean IPO on the New York Stock Exchange?
Thank you,
Kathleen Sloan
Sierra County Citizen
Oct. 29
Dear Ms. Sloan,
Thank you for your thoughtful inquiry regarding the Copper Flat Mine.
My comments at the recent commission meeting were in response to Commissioner Fahl’s request for an update from City Manager Whitehead. I relayed information shared by Mr. Stephen Crosby of Themac Resources Group, the company currently overseeing the project. I am not a representative of Themac, and my remarks were not an endorsement, but a summary of updates provided to the City.
I have not taken a formal position on the mine’s reopening. I recognize both the potential economic benefits and the environmental and social concerns. Past commissions have issued resolutions both supporting and withdrawing support for the mine; whether this commission will do so remains to be seen.
Some of your questions were addressed during the April 9, 2025, commission meeting by Mr. Crosby, and others were discussed during previous meetings under Mayor Green.
Concerns about water use, energy demand, and pollution are valid. As technology advances, I trust that environmental safeguards will continue to improve. I also acknowledge that I am not a mining expert and rely on the technical and scientific expertise that guides both industry practices and regulatory oversight. The State’s permitting process is designed to evaluate these impacts thoroughly.
Public input is vital, especially on matters within the City’s jurisdiction. At the same time, elected officials are entrusted to make informed decisions, including those involving entities beyond municipal control. The commission takes seriously its responsibility to represent the people who elected us. I plan to invite a representative from Themac to speak before the commission early next year. I am open to the city holding public meetings if the commission, after discussion, elects to do so.
Lastly, I did not state that Copper Flat is pursuing an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. I relayed that “the company itself is going private, instead of publicly traded.”
If you’d like me to forward your questions to Themac for direct response, I’m happy to do so. I appreciate your engagement on this complex issue.
Sincerely,
Rolf Hechler
Oct. 29
Mr. Hechler,
Thank you for your response. I am very glad to hear you have reserved judgement on the mine’s reopening. Alas, since the mining permit looms, now is the time to decide whether it is good or bad for the area. And since it is a very complex issue, the city commission and lay people need to agitate for public hearings, otherwise they will not happen. The city commission has power and I’m asking you to use it.
I will not take you up on your offer to direct my questions to Themac, since they are the Australian company that owns the mine and is seeking the permit.
What I want is for the mining and minerals department experts, along with Copper Flat’s experts, to hold public hearings on the very complex mining permit application. I thought Mr. Crosby was vague during his presentation at the city commission meeting, but it may have been the time limit, and as usual, no one could ask questions. All of Copper Flat’s spokespeople have been vague. It’s their job to be vague and “sell” the mine.
I believe the mine permit comment period will be over or it will already be decided if public hearings will be held by the first of the year, so waiting to see if the city commission wants to pass a resolution in support of the mining and minerals department holding public hearings will be far too late. I hope you will present such a resolution for the city commission’s vote very soon.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Sloan
Oct. 31
https://www.emnrd.nm.gov/mmd/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Copper-Flat-MMD-Hearing-Request-10142025.pdf
Mayor Hechler,
Please find the link above to the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department website page on Copper Flat’s mining permit application. This particular document is the first request for a public hearing on the application, which was submitted Oct. 14, 2025 by Allyson Siwik of the Gila Resources Information Project. You may find the reasoning for holding a public hearing helpful.
Thank you,
Kathleen
I did have a question. Given that Heckler’s response may seem uninformed at best, ignorant at worst. Does he have any influence, other than symbolic, to affect the outcome here? I get the fact that the county commission may have some influence. But what could Heckler do in his position as mayor if he was so motivated?
I think the only way a lot of these people would start to speak up is if mining trucks started rolling through the one-way, one lane streets (and the strange street parking setup) in our downtown area.
I was asking Hechler to advance a resolution that the whole city commission could vote on that stated support for a public hearing on the Mining and Minerals Division mining permit, or that they draft a letter to send to the MMD stating the same. But even Hechler’s letter alone, as the representative of 6,000 people who live nearby, would carry a lot of weight.
Copper Flat, in applying for prior permits, has included resolutions supporting the mine from Elephant Butte, Sierra County and T or C, so it too considers such resolutions important documents supposedly voicing the area people’s wishes.
Got it, thanks.
It is sad and unfortunate that the people who aren’t negatively and directly affected by a bad economic decision seem to, more and more frequently, think that any business interests that claim to be able to hire a few people or add a little money to the economy is all good 👍.
I was telling someone recently about the horrible crowding of tourists, all around Europe, serious enough to have public demonstrations in many of the major cities there. It is directly related, I believe, to the cruise ships with the potential to drop thousands of people (who ironically may spend most of their money aboard ship) anywhere near a port. Her response, straight out of the right wing playbook, was that it was all good because it added money to the local economy. Any comments I tried to make about inflationary effects, quality of life, or questions about where the money spent actually went, seemed to be secondary to the mantra that all business is good business and that what I was suggesting might be pure socialism (not true).