HECHO Strongly Supports Bill to Stop the Transfer of Public Lands and Critical Minerals to a Foreign Mining Company
Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO) strongly supports Representative Adelita Grijalva’s introduction of the “Save Oak Flat from Foreign Mining Act.” This critical legislation would prevent the transfer of 2,422 acres of U.S. public land —containing one of America’s richest copper deposits and Oak Flat, and a sacred site for the San Carlos Apache Tribe — to Resolution Copper, a company jointly owned by foreign mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto.
China is the largest customer for both companies, and the Aluminum Corporation of China, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, is currently Rio Tinto’s single largest shareholder.
For years, HECHO and Hispanic Conservation Leadership Council members have stood with the San Carlos Apache Tribe and local communities to oppose the proposed Resolution Copper mine, and raise awareness about the company’s deep financial ties with China.
Rep. Grijalva’s legislation would repeal Section 3003 of Public Law 113-291, a land-exchange provision added as a last-minute, closed-door rider to the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass bill which Congress approved in December 2014.
“The transfer of U.S. public lands and copper to a foreign-owned company was buried in a midnight rider that denied Americans hearings, debate, transparency, and a fair say in the fate of Oak Flat from the very beginning,” said Camilla Simon, Executive Director of HECHO. “We applaud Rep. Grijalva’s effort to protect Arizona’s natural resources, local communities, and our national security. The proposed mine will consume 250 billion gallons of water in a state facing a historic water crisis, leave behind nearly 1.4 billion tons of toxic waste, and likely strengthen China’s supply chains more than America’s, posing real risks to our economy and security.”
“Today, most of Arizona’s copper ore shipments already pass through Nogales to Mexico’s Guaymas port to be sent to Asia. Resolution Copper plans to extract American copper, send it abroad, likely to China, for refining, and then sell the finished products back to us. That’s not just bad economics, it’s a direct hit to American workers and taxpayers,” said Henry Muñoz, fifth-generation miner, and Hispanic Conservation Leadership Council member.
HECHO and our Hispanic Conservation Leadership Council urge Congress to advance this legislation. Our natural resources and public lands should be managed for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people and protected for future generations, not handed over to foreign corporations for their profit.