Cemex Mine to be Relocated from Santa Clarita to Victorville

After several long years of battling the proposed CEMEX sand and gravel mega-mining project in Santa Clarita's Soledad Canyon area, legislators and local lawmakers have apparently reached an agreement to relocate this facility to the Victorville area instead.

Santa Clarita residents have argued that the proposed CEMEX mining facility would be located too close to existing homes, thus creating a negative effect on the quality of life and home values in that area. The Soledad Canyon mining operation, if approved, would have been located closer to existing homes than any other large-scale mining operation in U.S. history.

The proposed legislation, the Soledad Canyon Mine Act (H.R. 5887), will cancel two ten-year Soledad
Canyon mining contracts that CEMEX has with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
thereby ending the possibility of mining at the Soledad Canyon site. CEMEX will be compensated by receiving land near Victorville, California that is comparable in value to the company's investment in the cancelled contracts.

"The City of Victorville is pleased to participate in this agreement that protects community interests and
provides for future economic development," says Victorville Councilman Mike Rothschild.

"Years ago, I made a promise to carry legislation to resolve the mining issue between the City of Santa Clarita and CEMEX if an agreement could be reached," stated Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Santa Clarita). "Today, I am pleased to report that with the help of our friends from the City of Victorville, we have reached that agreement."