U.S. Judge Rejects Bid to Stop Oak Flat Land Transfer for Copper Mining

A U.S. district judge on Friday turned down the latest attempt by a Native American tribe, environmental groups, and other plaintiffs to halt the federal government’s plan to transfer land in Arizona for a large copper mining endeavor.

Judge Dominic Lanza’s decision prompted an immediate appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as the federal government is about to proceed with the transfer next week.

Lanza highlighted the “stark trade-offs” central to the Oak Flat dispute, an area regarded as sacred. He mentioned the economic and national security benefits of the land transfer contrasted with the severe hardships from the irreversible destruction of the Apaches’ historic worship site.

Lanza wrote that the nation’s political branches are responsible for weighing competing objectives and determining how to balance them.

“Here, Congress chose to pursue the land exchange despite the existence of many significant trade-offs and the president chose to ratify Congress’s choice by signing the law into effect,” he wrote. “As a result, the Court must accept that this choice advances the public interest and operate from that premise.”

Conservation groups that are appealing the decision acknowledged that the clock was ticking but said they were not giving up.

The San Carlos Apache Tribe, along with Apache Stronghold and other plaintiffs, have long been fighting in court to preserve what tribal members call Chi’chil Bildagoteel, an area with ancient oak groves and traditional plants vital to their faith.

The plaintiffs have criticized the essential environmental review issued by the U.S. Forest Service earlier this summer, arguing that the government failed to consider the risks of a dam breach, pipeline failure, or if there was an emergency plan for a tailings storage area.

Before the land exchange can happen, they argued that the federal government must prepare a comprehensive review that considers “every aspect of the planned mine and all related infrastructure.”

The plaintiffs also raised concerns that an appraisal failed to account for the value of the copper deposits underlying one of the federal parcels to be exchanged

The fight over Oak Flat dates back about 20 years, when legislation proposing the land exchange was first introduced. It failed repeatedly in Congress before being included in a must-pass national defense spending bill in 2014.

The project has support in nearby Superior and other mining towns in the area. 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.

The tribe and the advocacy group Apache Stronghold sued the U.S. government in 2021 to protect Oak Flat. The U.S. Supreme Court in May rejected an appeal by the Apache group, letting lower court rulings stand.