"Appeals court blocks Oak Flat land swap, giving copper mine opponents a late reprieve", 18 August 2025

A federal appeals court temporarily halted a land exchange that would allow construction of a copper mine on a site held sacred by Arizona tribes, acting just hours before the swap could have been completed.

Ruling late Monday, Aug. 18, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order blocking the land exchange at Oak Flat, where Resolution Copper wants to extract ore from beneath 2,200 acres of forest and wetlands.

The ruling came the night before the end of a 60-day review period for the land exchange, which has survived more than two decades of delays, legal battles and an act of Congress...

A Resolution spokesperson characterized the ruling as a "temporary pause" to give the court time to consider the case. The company said it was confident the court would uphold the earlier ruling that "the congressionally directed land exchange satisfies all applicable legal requirements."

Tuesday, Aug. 19, marked the 60th day after the U.S. Forest Service issued a new environmental impact statement for the proposed copper mine, which would be built on 2,200 acres at Oak Flat, east of Phoenix. The deadline would have cleared the way for Resolution Copper to take control of the land had the 9th Circuit not halted it...

Even as the date for the land swap neared, questions continued to arise. The State Land Department sent a letter to the Forest Service on Aug. 4 objecting to the mine based on concerns about groundwater consumption and subsidence...

Although they were happy that the appeals court had temporarily halted the exchange, environmentalists vowed to fight on even if they lose their appeals and Oak Flat becomes private land, not subject to many land use laws...