A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving ahead with a plan that would allow Resolution Copper to take ownership of Oak Flat and begin extracting copper on land considered sacred to Apache and other Native peoples.
Judge Steven P. Logan issued the order May 9, two days after hearing the case in U.S. District Court in Phoenix. He ruled that the government cannot publish a final environmental review of a land swap between Resolution and the U.S. Forest Service, which manages a campground at the site 60 miles east of Phoenix.
The order would remain in place until the day after the U.S. Supreme Court declines to take the case or, if it accepts it, rules against grassroots group Apache Stronghold, which filed a lawsuit to stop the exchange in 2021 and sought the temporary delay in the Phoenix court.
In his decision, Logan wrote that it was “abundantly clear that the balance of equities ‘tips sharply’ in Plaintiff’s favor, and that even in the short term, they have established a likelihood of irreparable harm should the transfer proceed.” If the government reissued the environmental impact statement, the land swap could occur within 60 days.
The judge also said Apache Stronghold presented serious questions on the merits of the case that warrant the Supreme Court’s careful scrutiny if it takes the case.
Apache Stronghold leader Wendsler Nosie called the decision a blessing.
“It brings us the bright hope that we can get on the path to protect Mother Earth,” he told The Arizona Republic.
Nosie said the long-standing conflict has been long watched not only by Native people but people across the United States and across the world. He said corporations have done immense harm to the Earth with extraction projects and damaged or destroyed places with holy significance.
He hopes that ultimately the project is halted to preserve what he called a vast groundwater deposit stretching across central and eastern Arizona.
“Water is 80% of us and 80% of Mother Earth,” he said. “Mother Earth was heard today.”
Energy policy: Trump puts Oak Flat copper mine on permitting fast track. Tribes, opponents vow to fight
Mining company cites support, economic benefits
A spokesperson for Resolution Copper saw less significance in the ruling.
“This short-term order simply maintains the status quo pending the Supreme Court’s ongoing review, but changes nothing about the merits of the legal issues currently before the Supreme Court,” the spokesperson said. “We anticipate the Supreme Court will decide the petition for certiorari soon.”
In the meantime, he said, the mining company is evaluating the district court’s ruling.
“The Resolution Copper mine is vital to securing America’s energy future, infrastructure needs, and national defense with a domestic supply of copper and other critical minerals,” the spokesperson said.
He said there is significant community support for the project, which has the potential to become one of the largest copper mines in America, add $1 billion a year to Arizona’s economy and create thousands of local jobs in a region where mining has played an important role for more than a century.
“More than a decade of extensive consultation and collaboration with Native American tribes and local communities has directly led to major changes to the mining plan to preserve and reduce potential impacts on tribal, social, and cultural interests,” he said.
A lawyer who argued on behalf of Apache Stronghold said protecting the site until all arguments are resolved is critical.
“The feds have absolutely no reason to ram through the transfer of Oak Flat while our case is standing on the doorstep of the Supreme Court,” said Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “This ruling ensures that Oak Flat remains protected as the legal process continues, giving the Supreme Court time to decide if cherished Apache rituals can continue for future generations.”
Why Oak Flat has become an energy battleground
Also known as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, “the place where the Emory oak grows,” Oak Flat is at the heart of a dispute over what should happen to the 2,200-acre site about 60 miles east of Phoenix.
In December 2014, Congress authorized the U.S. Forest Service to trade the site, currently a campground amid big Emory oaks, other trees and plants, for about 5,000 acres of environmentally sensitive private land farther south, parcels owned by Resolution, a company owned by British-Australian mining corporations Rio Tinto and BHP.
But Oak Flat is held sacred by Apache and other Native peoples. It’s also a popular site for recreation and rock climbing and is one of Arizona’s remaining undisturbed wetlands. The seeps and springs host wildlife, provide water for the oaks and other plants and offer a haven from Phoenix’s brutal summers.
The Trump administration added Resolution Copper’s proposed mine east of Phoenix to a new priority list on April 18, along with nine other mining projects. It is part of a push to increase domestic production of critical minerals through an executive order issued March 20.
The list was posted in the wake of an announcement by the U.S. government on April 17 that it would reissue the final environmental impact statement 60 days later, or June 16. When the document is published, the 60-day window opens to complete the land swap and transfer the site to Resolution.
The Mining Law of 1872 opened federal lands to mineral extraction. U.S. citizens are entitled to explore and purchase mineral deposits on public lands designated as open for mining claims. It’s the foundation of mineral extraction laws and hasn’t been significantly changed in its 153-year history.
Resolution plans to extract the copper ore using a method known as block cave mining, in which tunnels are drilled beneath the ore body and then collapsed, leaving the ore to be moved to a crushing facility. Eventually, the ground would subside, leaving behind a crater about 1,000 feet deep and nearly 2 miles across where Oak Flat and its religious and environmental significance now stand.
The U.S. Forest Service published the final environmental impact statement and draft decision for the copper mine and land swap five days before the end of the first Trump administration in January 2021. The land deal could have been finalized within 60 days of that action. Apache Stronghold filed a lawsuit.
Apache Stronghold filed for an emergency injunction on April 24 in response to a letter from the administration to the U.S. Supreme Court on April 18 that it intended to issue the final environmental impact statement 60 days later, as soon as June 16. The high court has been debating since late 2024 if it would accept the case.
After being turned down by the federal district court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Apache Stronghold appealed to the Supreme Court in 2024. The high court has continued to consider the case, but as of May 7, has not yet decided if it will hear the group’s appeal.
Fight over deal: Federal court to hear Apache Stronghold plea to halt a land swap for Oak Flat copper mine
Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X @debkrol.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Federal judge temporarily halts land swap at Oak Flat copper mine site