Days Away from Arizona “Land Swap” That Hands U.S. Copper and Public Lands to Foreign Mining Interests Tied to China
PHOENIX, AZ — In just a few days, on August 19th, the U.S. Forest Service is set to transfer 2,422 acres of U.S. public land with one of America’s richest copper deposits and a sacred site to Resolution Copper, a foreign-owned mining company jointly owned by Anglo-Australian giants BHP and Rio Tinto, both of which have deep financial ties to the People’s Republic of China. This transfer is moving forward without adequate assurance that it serves the interests of the American people.
Oak Flat is located in the Tonto National Forest in southeastern Arizona and is recognized as a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) on the National Register of Historic Places. This sacred site could be irreversibly destroyed—collapsing into a 1.8-mile-wide, 1,000-foot-deep crater—to make way for one of the largest underground copper mines in North America.
As the largest customer for both Rio Tinto and BHP, China accounts for a whopping 57% Rio Tinto’s sales (about 250 million tonnes of iron ore shipped each year), and about 60% of BHP’s sales in fiscal 2024.
Additionally, Rio Tinto’s single largest shareholder is the Aluminum Corporation of China, a Chinese state-owned mining company that holds nearly 15% of Rio Tinto’s stock. As a result, the Australian government has restricted Chinalco from owning more than 14.99% of Rio Tinto due to concerns about their own national interests.
“This is not simply a land swap; it is a direct transfer of one of America’s richest copper deposits—worth billions of dollars—to a foreign-owned mining company with a robust financial relationship and strategic partnership with China, putting U.S. control of critical land, water, and copper resources in jeopardy,” said Camilla Simon, Executive Director of HECHO. “We are turning over public lands of sacred cultural importance and recreational value for a project that will completely destroy the area and siphon off a massive amount of groundwater, threatening supplies for Arizona households. Before it is too late, we need to take a hard look at what we are ‘swapping’ —and to whom— because from what we have seen, the American people are not getting a fair exchange for handing over our public lands and resources to foreign-controlled entities.”
The mine is projected to consume an estimated 250 billion gallons of water over 40 years, draining already stressed aquifers in a state facing a historic water crisis.
The Arizona State Land Department recently filed a formal objection to the Resolution Copper Project and Land Exchange, citing severe threats to water resources. Their concerns are centered on the substantial withdrawal of groundwater from the aquifer beneath the Superstition Vistas Planning Area, which encompasses 275 square miles of Arizona State Trust Land.
“This toxic project will generate 1.37 billion tons of mining waste, creating one of the largest tailings storage facilities in the world. If the dam fails, as has happened at other BHP and Rio Tinto mines, the contamination of our water would be catastrophic. Several studies confirm the risks of both water depletion and contamination,” said Henry Muñoz, a retired miner, Superior resident, member of HECHO’s Hispanic Conservation Leadership Council, and Chairman of the Arizona Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Coalition.
The Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act, which authorizes this transfer, failed for years to pass on its own merits. In 2015, it was inserted without floor debate or public input into the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act as a last-minute rider.
“This is a giveaway of U.S. public lands, not for the benefit of Americans, but for foreign interests. The transfer of Oak Flat is deeply concerning, as it undermines our national security, threatens Arizonans' water security, and infringes Indigenous religious rights. Once these lands are transferred, it is highly unlikely that Americans will ever regain ownership,” added Simon.
HECHO urges Congress and the Trump Administration to stop this land transfer before it’s too late.