"Tribe, environmentalists seek ruling against Oak Flat copper mine as deadline nears", 4 August 2025

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A federal judge will hear arguments Aug. 6 from the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a group of environmentalists who want to halt a land exchange that would allow the construction of a huge copper mine at Oak Flat, a site held sacred by Indigenous communities.

San Carlos asked the court to stop the exchange in response to the Trump administration’s June 20 publication of a final environmental impact statement that set a 60-day deadline for the U.S. Forest Service to trade 2,200 acres in the Tonto National Forest for private lands owned by Resolution Copper...

San Carlos Tribal Chairman Terry Rambler said the newest statement published by the Forest Service in June violated several federal laws and "must not be used as the basis to illegally transfer ownership of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper."...

The mining company said the land exchange can't be stopped because it was authorized by Congress in 2014, and that the new EIS was a "rigorous, independent review" by the Forest Service, including consultation with several tribes and other governments.

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The Forest Service's announcement in April that the process would move forward again set off a flurry of court filings to stop or at least put on hold the move, which would open up a 60-day period when the land exchange could take place. Apache Stronghold won a temporary halt to the proceedings until the high court either decided not to take the case or issued a decision. The Supreme Court turned Apache Stronghold down in May.

On June 9, a U.S. District Court Judge... barred the Forest Service from completing the land exchange until a full 60 days after the new document is issued to give parties from the other two lawsuits sufficient time to review the environmental impact statement and revive their litigation. The 60-day period ends August 19, after which the land exchange can be completed unless the court issues a new halt to the proceedings.

In July, Apache Stronghold asked the high court to reconsider its decision and agree to hear the case...

Resolution said the Forest Service's 11-year review led the company to make major changes to its mining plan "to preserve and reduce potential impacts on Tribal, social, environmental and cultural interests." ...