Contributed Article/Courtesy San Carlos Apache Tribe
SAN CARLOS APACHE RESERVATION — The San Carlos Apache Tribe has asked a Phoenix federal court to block the imminent transfer of sacred Chi’chil Biłdagoteel (Oak Flat) to Chinese-backed Resolution Copper Mining that intends to construct one of the largest mines in the world.
The Resolution Copper Mine would collapse Oak Flat into a two-mile-wide, 1,100-foot-deep crater. Oak Flat is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property.
The Tribe filed its pleadings late Monday in response to the Trump Administration’s June 20 publication of a Final Environmental Impact Statement that set in motion a 60-day deadline for the U.S. Forest Service to trade Oak Flat’s 2,422 acres located on the Tonto National Forest for private lands owned by Resolution Copper. A 2014 law requires the Forest Service to trade Oak Flat to Resolution Copper within 60 days of publication of a legal FEIS.
U.S. District Court Judge Dominic W. Lanza last month ruled that the land exchange could occur no sooner than August 19 to allow the Tribe an opportunity to file legal objections to the Resolution FEIS. The Tribe filed a complaint alleging the FEIS violates federal laws and a motion for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order to block the transfer of Oak Flat.
“The Trump Administration’s environmental report violates several federal laws and must not be used as the basis to illegally transfer ownership of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper,” San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler said. “We respectfully request the court to block the transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper and give us an opportunity (to) challenge the legality of the environmental study and the land exchange itself.”
Resolution Copper is owned by Melbourne-based BHP, the world’s largest mining company, and London-based Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest mining company. Both companies generate more than half of their revenue from the Chinese market. The Chinese state-owned company Chinalco focuses on obtaining strategic minerals, including copper, and is Rio Tinto’s largest shareholder, owning nearly 15% of the company’s stock.
“The Resolution Copper project is a major, national security threat to the United States,” Chairman Rambler said. “The Forest Service has already concluded Resolution’s unrefined copper will be sent to Southeast Asia for processing, and China operates eight of the twenty largest smelters in the world. The Trump Administration should be working with the Tribe to stop this project that not only destroys our sacred land, but also threatens all Americans by transferring ownership of one of the largest copper deposits in the world to mining companies that heavily rely on China for their sales.”
This is the second time a Trump Administration has published the FEIS, setting in motion the transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper. The first Trump Administration published the FEIS in January 2021. The Biden Administration subsequently withdrew the FEIS on March 1, 2021, citing the need for additional tribal consultation and environmental analysis before moving ahead with the project.
“Neither the Biden Administration nor the new Trump Administration have conducted required consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act with the Tribe,” Chairman Rambler said. “Oak Flat is within traditional Apache territory, and the federal government has a Trust responsibility to protect sacred tribal areas from destruction.” (sic)
The Tribe’s complaint argues the Tribe holds Indian Title to Oak Flat based on its longstanding use and occupancy of the land.
“The 2014 law did not extinguish our Title, nor did it amend the Apache Treaty of 1852, and we do not consent to its taking today,” Chairman Rambler said.
The legislation authorizing the land exchange was enacted without review by the relevant congressional committee. It was added at the last minute as a non-germane rider to a must-pass defense spending bill by the late Arizona Senator John McCain.
“Had Congress known the facts at that time, this bill would never have been attached to a defense authorization act,” Chairman Rambler said.
The Resolution mine will consume at least 775,000 acre-feet of groundwater from the East Salt River Valley, which is already facing a water shortage. This is enough water to supply 160,000 homes annually for 40 years. The Arizona State Land Department stated in 2019 that the groundwater pumping would reduce the value of nearby state Trust Land by more than $530 million.
“Incredibly, the mine’s owners do not have legal rights under state law to any of the water they seek to take from Arizona,” Chairman Rambler said. “It is our Tribe’s hope that the courts and Congress will finally take a hard look at this land exchange and stop this mine.”
