U.S. Transfers Oak Flat and American Copper to Resolution Copper

PHOENIX, AZ —The U.S. Forest Service has transferred 2,422 acres of U.S. public land —containing one of America’s richest copper deposits and Oak Flat, a sacred site for the San Carlos Apache Tribe — to Resolution Copper, a company jointly owned by foreign mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto. The transfer occurred after the Ninth Circuit court of appeals denied a motion to halt the project, allowing the land exchange to proceed. 

“This giveaway of U.S. public lands and copper to a foreign-owned company was concealed in a late-night legislative maneuver 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. “The unacceptable impacts of this mine include the destruction of a sacred site, 250 billion gallons of water that will be taken from Arizonan families, and the construction of one of the largest toxic tailings dams in the world.” 

“Arizona’s water resources are already stretched thin, yet two foreign mining companies stand to reap billions while taxpayers end up paying more for water,” said Henry Muñoz, fifth-generation miner and Hispanic Conservation Leadership Council member.  

Once mined, Oak Flat will collapse into a crater 1.8 miles wide and 1,000 feet deep, erasing a place where generations have camped, rock climbed, prayed, and gathered. The mine will consume an estimated 250 billion gallons  over 40 years in a state facing a historic water crisis and leave behind nearly 1.4 billion tons of toxic waste. 

The Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act, which authorizes the transfer of Oak Flat, failed for years to pass on its own merits. In 2015, it was inserted into the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act as a last-minute rider, bypassing floor debate and public input.