Trump to approve land swap for Rio Tinto copper mine opposed by Native Americans
By Ernest Scheyder
April 18, 2025
- Forest Service to republish environmental report within 60 days
- Publication needed to approve land swap for Resolution project
- Native groups oppose project on religious grounds
- Related case still pending at Supreme Court
"The #Trump administration said on Thursday it would approve a land swap needed for #RioTinto and #BHP to build one of the world's largest copper mines, despite concerns from Native Americans that it would destroy a site of religious value.
The move is likely to escalate tensions between Indigenous groups vocal about the need to preserve historical lands and Western governments eager to boost critical minerals production and offset China's sector dominance.
"The U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, said it will republish within 60 days an environmental report needed for the #ResolutionCopper project land swap to occur.
"Congress and then-President #BarackObama approved the mine in 2014 after it was added at the last minute to a must-pass military funding bill [#NDAA] with the condition that an environmental report be published.
"The underground mine - which President Donald Trump approved in his first term before successor Joe Biden reversed him - would supply more than a quarter of U.S. appetite for copper and be a key part of Trump's plan to boost U.S. mining.
"Copper is used in construction, transportation, electronics and many other industries. The United States imports roughly half of its copper needs each year.
"Yet the mine's construction would cause a crater that would swallow the Oak Flat site where Arizona's San Carlos Apache worship. That has fueled strong opposition from all but one of the state's 22 Native American tribes, as well as the National Congress of American Indians.
"Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit group comprised of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and conservationists, asked the U.S. Supreme Court last September to block the land swap. The court has not yet decided whether to take that case.
Were the court to do so, however, the Forest Service said on Thursday it 'may reevaluate how to proceed' regarding the land swap.
" 'The U.S. government is rushing to give away our spiritual home before the courts can even rule, just like it's rushed to erase Native people for generations,' said #WendslerNosie, an #ApacheStronghold leader."
#Apaches #WesternApaches #NativeAmericans #SacredSite #ResolutionCopper #SaveOakFlat #ChichilBiłdagoteel #CorporateColonialism #ProtectOakFlat #ReaderSupportedNews #SCOTUS #DefendTheSacred #CopperMine
#WaterIsLife #CulturalGenocide #WesternApache #SacredSites #NoMiningWithoutConsent #RecycleCopper #TontoNationalForest
#Apaches ask lower court to stop government’s imminent transfer of #SacredSite
Becket Law, via #CensoredNews, April 25, 2025
There will be a Hearing May 7, 2025 @ 0930 @ Sandra Day O’Connor
U.S. Courthouse, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85003
WASHINGTON – "A coalition of #WesternApaches, other #NativePeoples, and non-Native #allies asked a federal court late yesterday to stop the U.S. government from handing over their sacred site at Oak Flat to a multinational mining giant as early as June 16, 2025.
"In #ApacheStronghold v. United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last year refused to stop the federal government from transferring #OakFlat to #ResolutionCopper, a Chinese-owned mining company that plans to turn the site into a massive mining crater, ending Apache religious practices forever (Watch the short video linked below to learn more).
"The emergency appeal comes after the government announced last week it will forge ahead with the transfer even though the case is currently under consideration by the #USSupremeCourt."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/apaches-ask-lower-court-to-stop.html
Video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh68xOn0B_8
#SaveOakFlat #ChichilBiłdagoteel #CorporateColonialism #ProtectOakFlat #ReaderSupportedNews #SCOTUS #DefendTheSacred #CopperMine
#WaterIsLife #RioTinto #RecycleCopper #CulturalGenocide #NDAA #WesternApache #SacredSites #NoMiningWithoutConsent #RecycleCopper #TontoNationalForest
Breaking News! (via @bsnorrell.blogspot.com )
Feds Charge Ahead with Plan to Destroy #OakFlat
#SupremeCourt poised to consider #ApacheStronghold’s appeal
By Becket Law, Censored News, April 17, 2025
WASHINGTON – "The U.S. government today announced that it is forging ahead with plans to transfer a #NativeAmerican #SacredSite to a multinational mining giant in as few as 60 days, despite a
federal lawsuit challenging the action as illegal.
"In Apache Stronghold v. United States, Apache Stronghold—a coalition of #Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies—sued to stop the federal government from transferring Oak Flat to
Resolution Copper, a Chinese-owned mining company that plans to turn the site into a massive mining crater, ending Apache religious practices forever.
"The government has announced it will now forge ahead with the transfer even though the case is currently under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Since time immemorial, #WesternApaches and other Native peoples have gathered at Oak Flat, outside of present-day #SuperiorAZ, for sacred religious ceremonies that cannot take place anywhere else. Known in Apache as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, Oak Flat is listed in the #NationalRegisterOfHistoricPlaces and has been protected from #mining and other harmful practices for decades.
These protections were targeted in December 2014 when a last-minute provision was slipped into a must-pass defense bill [#NDAA] authorizing the transfer of Oak Flat to the Resolution Copper company.
"#ResolutionCopper now plans to turn the sacred site into a two-mile-wide and 1,100-foot-deep crater.
"The majority owner of Resolution Copper, Rio Tinto, sparked international outrage when it deliberately destroyed 46,000-year-old Indigenous rock shelters at one of Australia’s most significant cultural sites.
" 'The feds are barreling ahead to give Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, even as the Supreme Court considers whether to hear the case,' said Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. 'This makes the stakes crystal clear: if the Court doesn’t act now, Oak Flat could be transferred and destroyed before justice can be served.' "
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/04/feds-charge-ahead-with-plan-to-destroy.html
#SaveOakFlat #ChichilBiłdagoteel #CorporateColonialism #ProtectOakFlat #ReaderSupportedNews #SCOTUS #DefendTheSacred #CopperMine
#WaterIsLife #ResolutionCopper #RioTinto #RecycleCopper #CulturalGenocide #NoMiningWithoutConsent #RecycleCopper #TontoNationalForest
#ApacheStronghold: U.S. Give-Away would Destroy Spiritual Home of #Apache
By Wendsler Nosie, Apache Stronghold, March 13, 2025, via #CensoredNews
"In the heart of #TontoNationalForest in #Arizona lies a place that my people, the #WesternApache, still hold above all others. This place is Chi'chil Biłdagoteel, also known as Oak Flat. To us, it is more than a stretch of land; it is sacred and holy. It is where our ancestors walked, where we gather to pray, to carry out ceremonies passed down through generations, and to speak to our Creator.
"This land is part of who we are as a people, and its spirit is bound to our own.
Now, the federal government plans to give our sacred Oak Flat to a multinational #mining #corporation owned by the Chinese Communist Party. This will not just scar the land; it will destroy it, poisoning the environment and trampling on our tribal rights. But the deepest wound will be the loss of our spiritual home, a place our people cannot exist without. We are fighting this in the courts, all the way to the #USSupremeCourt. But this is about more than law and policy—this is about survival of our way of life and the spirit of this sacred land.
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/03/apache-stronghold-us-give-away-would.html
#SaveOakFlat #ChichilBiłdagoteel #CorporateColonialism #ProtectOakFlat #ReaderSupportedNews #SCOTUS #DefendTheSacred #CopperMine
#WaterIsLife #ResolutionCopper #RioTinto #RecycleCopper #CulturalGenocide #NoMiningWithoutConsent #RecycleCopper
Officials shut down major mining site after unprecedented disaster: 'The company caused irreparable … damage'
#mining #Chile #ecologicalDisaster #CopperMine #lundin #Canada
https://www.yahoo.com/news/officials-shut-down-major-mining-113023041.html?
A river ‘died’ overnight in #Zambia after an acidic waste spill at a #Chinese-owned #mine
By RICHARD KILLE and JACOB ZIMBA
March 15, 2025
KITWE, Zambia (AP) — "Authorities and environmentalists in Zambia fear the long-term impact of an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine that contaminated a major river and could potentially affect millions of people after signs of #pollution were detected at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) downstream.
"The spill happened on Feb. 18 when a tailings dam that holds acidic waste from a #CopperMine in the north of the country collapsed, according to investigators from the Engineering Institution of Zambia.
"The collapse allowed some 50 million liters of waste containing concentrated acid, dissolved solids and heavy metals to flow into a stream that links to the #KafueRiver, Zambia’s most important waterway, the engineering institution said.
"'It is an #environmental disaster really of catastrophic consequences,' said Chilekwa Mumba, an environmental activist who works in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province."
https://apnews.com/article/mining-pollution-china-zambia-environment-93ee91d1156471aaf9a7ebd6f51333c1
#RecycleCopper #CopperMining #Pollution #WaterIsLife #Africa
Authorities and environmentalists in Zambia fear the long-term impact of an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine that poisoned a major river and could potentially affect millions of people after signs of pollution were detected at least 100 kilometers downstream. The spill happened on Feb. 18 when a tailings dam which holds acidic waste from a copper mine in the north of the country collapsed. It allowed some 50 million liters of waste to flow into a stream which links to the Kafue River, Zambia’s most important waterway. An environmental activist called it a "disaster really of catastrophic consequences.”
#OakFlat Update on #USSupremeCourt case!
By #ApacheStronghold, December 16, 2024
Supreme Court update
"Thank you to all of our supporters who are continuing to pray about our #SupremeCourt petition to #ProtectOakFlat. As you may know, the Supreme Court considered our petition for the second time at its conference on December 13, 2024. Since we did not receive notice about it’s decision to take the case, the Court intends to consider it again at its next conference on January 10, 2025. Under that schedule, we could hear on January 10 or 13 whether the Court will take our case. Or the Court may take additional time for further consideration.
"Either way, we take this as an encouraging sign that the Court is devoting extra time to our case and giving it careful examination. We ask all of our supporters to continue praying that the Justices will agree to hear our case and protect Oak Flat—just as the sacred places of other faiths have long been protected throughout the country.
Thank you again for your support."
Source:
http://www.apache-stronghold.com/
Direct link to PDF:
http://users.neo.registeredsite.com/8/3/2/11897238/assets/2024-12-16_Dr_Nosie_2nd_relist_statement.pdf
#SaveOakFlat #SCOTUS #ProtectOakFlat #ReaderSupportedNews #DefendTheSacred #CopperMine
#WaterIsLife #ResolutionCopper #RioTinto #RecycleCopper #CorporateColonialism #PrayerRide #CulturalGenocide
The Apache Stronghold are individuals who come together in unity to battle continued colonization, defend Holy sites and freedom of religion, and are dedicated to building a better community through neighborhood programs and civic engagement. We work from San Carlos, Arizona connecting Apaches and other Native and non-Native allies from all over the world.
#OakFlat Update on #USSupremeCourt case!
By #ApacheStronghold, via #CensoredNews, December 9, 2024
"Thank you to all of our supporters who are continuing to pray about our Supreme Court petition to protect Oak Flat. As you may know, the Supreme Court considered our petition for the first time at its conference on December 6, 2024.
"However, we received word today that the Court intends to consider it again at the Court’s next conference on December 13, 2024. Under that schedule, we could hear on December 13 or 16 whether the Court will take our case. Or the Court may take additional time for further consideration.
"Either way, we take this as an encouraging sign that the Court is devoting extra time to our case and giving it careful examination. We ask all of our supporters to continue praying that the Justices will agree to hear our case and protect Oak Flat—just as the sacred places of other faiths have long been protected throughout the country. Thank you again for your support."
Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/12/apache-stronghold-us-supreme-court.html
Donate:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-apache-stronghold-protect-sacred-sites
More info:
http://www.apache-stronghold.com
#SaveOakFlat #SCOTUS #ProtectOakFlat #ReaderSupportedNews #DefendTheSacred #CopperMine
#WaterIsLife #ResolutionCopper #RioTinto #RecycleCopper #CorporateColonialism #PrayerRide #CulturalGenocide
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