"US Supreme Court rejects Apache appeal to block Rio Tinto’s Resolution mine", 27 May 2025

The US Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to hear an appeal by the Apache Stronghold seeking to block the development of the Resolution Copper mine in Arizona...

The advocacy group ... challenged a 2024 lower court decision that permitted a federal land swap allowing the mining companies to acquire land considered sacred by the Apache for the mine project.

A federal judge in Arizona had temporarily halted the land transfer on May 9, pending the outcome of the Supreme Court appeal...

The companies have so far invested over $2 billion into the project, which is poised to become North America’s largest copper mine...

Apache Stronghold first filed suit in 2021, claiming the project violates constitutional and statutory protections for religious freedom. They argue the mine would destroy ... a sacred site where Western Apaches have conducted ceremonies for generations ...

The group also says the mine would violate an 1852 treaty in which the US government promised to protect Apache lands and ensure the tribe’s “permanent prosperity and happiness.”

Congress authorized the land swap as part of a 2014 defense spending bill signed by then-President Barack Obama. The legislation allowed Rio Tinto and BHP to exchange private lands for Oak Flat ...

The transfer was contingent on the completion of an environmental impact statement, which was released in January 2021, during the final days of the first Trump administration. However, in March 2021, the Biden administration withdrew the statement, halting the transfer temporarily.

The US Forest Service is expected to reissue the environmental report, potentially allowing the land swap to proceed as early as June 16. ...