From the Hermosa Community Protection and Benefit Agreements Signatories (The City of Nogales, the Town of Patagonia, Santa Cruz County and South32):

During December, the Hermosa CPBA Signatories continued advancing the Community Protection & Benefit Agreement (CPBA), strengthening the agreement framework and confirming near-term community commitments.
What we worked on:
Contribution Agreement
Early Actions (immediate benefits)
Roadmap for ProtectionsEarly Actions
The Signatories confirmed the Early Actions for 2026, which look to fund immediate protections and benefits. Early Action benefits planned relate to high priority emergency services, education & childcare, and nature-based restorative economy developments that are readily implementable (with some implementation potentially extending into 2027). The Early Actions benefits are accompanied by short term protection initiatives (including monitoring, reporting and public review activities) outlined in a protection roadmap that was developed by an independent expert (see below). South32 will fully fund the Early Action benefits and protections through a collaborative contribution agreement.
The Signatories also continued planning for longer term benefit programs that are intended to extend through the period when the mine is operating profitably (to be executed when in peak operations). These benefits would be supported through a to-be-defined fiscal agent or foundation, designed to provide long-term continuity and accountability.
Planning for long-term protections and benefits administration
To inform development of the future protections and benefits structure, the Signatories reviewed several community benefit administration models used elsewhere, including an approach that rotates benefit funding among local jurisdictions on a scheduled basis (for example, every three years). These discussions are part of building a framework that is transparent, equitable, and responsive to community priorities.
Protections Roadmap refinement and release planning
An independent Protections Roadmap is being developed by Spheros, a Signatory-assigned environmental expert, and will be released for public review on the CPBA website https://cpba- hermosa.org/ in late January. The Roadmap summary is below. As part of finalizing the document, the Signatories identified a need to further clarify how certain roles and responsibilities will function in practice.

First Quarter (Q1) priorities and planning
Through a Q1 priorities exercise, Signatories identified shared themes that will guide next steps:
What community members and Signatories want to see: strong trust and transparency, timely delivery of Early Action benefits, and measurable improvements to community well-being
Key risks to plan for: ensuring long-term consistency and continuity of support over timePrimary Q1 priorities include:
Completing the Contribution Agreement
Delivering Early Actions
Beginning implementation of actions outlined in the Protections Roadmap
Expanding understanding of and engagement around the CPBADecember Website Submissions:
Four Survey Submissions
Five Comments/MessagesThese inputs are considered and discussed by the Signatories as part of community engagement efforts to understand community concerns and interests.

This press release is available to download as a PDF here. 

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