The transfer of federal forest land in Arizona to two international companies planning to mine one of North America’s largest copper deposits has been completed, but a group of Apache women is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene as a last resort to block the project.
Title to the land was conveyed to Resolution Copper by the federal government on Friday after an appeals court denied a request by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmentalists to block the removal.
The Court of Appeals reversed the appellate court’s decision, finding that the plaintiffs’ legal claims were unlikely to succeed. emergency injunction It was introduced last summer.
The land includes an oak flat that has been used for centuries. Religious rituals, prayers, and collection of medicinal plants By the San Carlos Apache and other Native American tribes. The tribe, the activist group Apache Stronghold, and other plaintiffs. fight for years To save what tribe members call Chytil Bildagothir.
In Friday’s ruling, the appeals court found that the transfer would fundamentally change the nature of the land and result in the destruction of sacred sites to the tribe and other plaintiffs.
“Despite serious harm to Native American religious practices, Congress chose to cede this land, and Plaintiffs have no viable challenge to that decision,” the court said.
Lawyers for the U.S. Forest Service have long argued in court filings that the exchange was indeed mandated by Congress when the language was included in the mandatory defense spending bill signed into law by then-President Barack Obama in 2014, and that the Forest Service has no discretion.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who oversees the Forest Service, said in a statement Monday that the project is among those that will help realize President Donald Trump’s vision of energy independence.
“Completion of this land exchange secures a major domestic source of copper essential for defense, grid modernization, and next-generation energy, positioning us to secure our nation’s future by expanding mineral production and maximizing America’s resource potential,” she said.
Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of international mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, estimates the mine will generate $1 billion a year for Arizona’s economy and create thousands of jobs. This project has the following support: Communities near Superior.
Resolution Copper said the project underwent extensive review by the Forest Service, including consultation with tribes with ancestral ties to the land.
“Courts at all levels have consistently ruled in favor of Resolution Copper, and three different presidential administrations have supported this project,” Resolution President and General Manager Vicki Peasy said in a statement. “It’s time to end these pointless lawsuits.”
The company did not immediately respond to questions about its work schedule at the site.
In a statement shared on social media, Wenzler Nosey Sr. of the group Apache Stronghold continued to express concerns about water use and the potential for contamination as mining proceeds.
“The fight over Oak Flat raises important questions about the environment and our country’s commitment to Indigenous rights and religious freedom,” Northey said. “But at its heart, it is a fight over our sacred and sacred land, the faith that has always been defined by it, and the right for our religious traditions to be respected and protected.”
