A federal appeals court issued a temporary restraining order blocking a planned land transfer in Arizona that would have enabled mining at Oak Flat (Chí'chil Biłdagoteel), a site sacred to Western Apache people. Resolution Copper seeks access to 2,200 acres in Tonto National Forest that include the sacred site and a major untapped copper deposit after two decades of efforts. The restraining order pauses the transfer while the court considers two consolidated cases alleging violations of the National Environmental Policy Act and inadequate consultation with the San Carlos Apache Tribe. The tribe and environmental groups oppose the land exchange; the company calls the pause temporary.
Just hours before the deal was set to go through, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a land transfer in Arizona on Monday that would ultimately lead to the destruction of a site sacred to Western Apache people. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' temporary restraining order is the latest in a long-running saga in which the U.S. Forest Service has planned to transfer the land to a mining company, Resolution Copper, while the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a coalition of environmental groups have fought to protect the sacred site of Oak Flat, or Chí'chil Biłdagoteel in Apache.
The company has worked for two decades to gain access to the 2,200 acres of land in Tonto National Forest that contains both the sacred site and one of the world's largest untapped copper deposits. The restraining order halts the land transfer until the court can rule on two consolidated cases, which have argued in lower courts that approval of the land transfer and mine violates the National Environmental Policy Act and failed to adequately consult with the tribe.
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