In the area, groundwater is approximately 300' below the surface. Demetrie Wash. Both flow southeast into the Santa Cruz River. The mine setting is in a transitional zone from Arizona Upland Desertscrub to Semidesert Grassland. Native vegetation includes velvet mesquite, desert hackberry, desert broom, and blue paloverde. Wildlife that can be found in the area include desert mule deer, coyote, javelina, desert cottontail, pocket mice, and several species of birds and reptiles.
Recreational activities consist of dove and quail hunting, hiking, and rock collecting.
Current open pit mining and leaching activities are planned to continue until 2019. Mining plans call for the Sierrita and Esperanza pits to be mined together, forming one large 1,500 acre pit at the time of mine closure. The Ocotillo pit will be filled with waste rock and will become an extension of the current T Dump. During the course of normal operations, facilities, including the central shops, equipment and haul truck maintenance areas, mine maintenance administration buildings, shovel shop, and the Southwest Energy offices will be mined out. The conveyor belt system will be removed or relocated and at closure, only the conveyor at to the primary crusher at the bottom of the Sierrita pit, will remain.