By Joseph Cunningham
Photo by Cheryl Evans/The Republic
Sixty miles west outside of Phoenix is a place called Oak Flats. Oak Flats has been the subject of legal battles for close to 10 years now. In 2013, two of the largest mining companies in the world came together to create a mining operation in Arizona. These companies were BHP and RioTinto, forming the project Resolution Copper, with the goal to acquire 2,422 acres of land within Oak Flats.
However, there are several problems with this plan, one such being that the land is a holy site for the native Apache Tribe, and should be protected under religious freedoms. A lawsuit was filed in 2021 by Apache Stronghold which claimed the land was protected by a treaty from 1852, the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Originally, the suit was brought to the ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals where the court sided with the mining company at first, allowing the government to transfer the land. However, it was then pushed back for another hearing. Then the case was given to the Supreme Court, where on Oct. 6, the Supreme Court for the second time refused to hear Apache Stronghold’s case. But the fight is not over as Apache Stronghold put out a statement calling for a continued fight and focusing their attention towards an oral hearing in Jan. 2026 with the ninth Circuit Court once again.
Resolution has made claims that the amount of copper in the area could be enough to produce 25% of the nation’s total demand, and make about 3,700 direct or indirect jobs. The ore deposit is large, estimated to be 7,000 feet below ground, and has a copper resource of 1.787 billion metric tonnes at an average grade of 1.5% copper. BHP and Rio Tinto have spent a combined total of 2 billion dollars just to get the permit from U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The project is expected to contribute up to $1.2 billion annually in economic value for Arizona over the project’s 60-year estimated life.
Apache Stronghold, which is made up of 20 tribes across Arizona, has fought a hard battle since then. The mines would cause hundreds, if not thousands to lose access to Oak Flats (known as Chí’chil Biłdagoteel to the natives). The mountain is known for being a “life-giver.” Fresh water streams flow throughout its valleys and a rich ecosystem provides natural resources. Hundreds go to the mountain area to perform many different rituals, such as the Sunrise Ceremony, Holy Ground ceremonies and sweat lodge ceremonies.
There are also heavy environmental concerns as mining takes a considerable amount of water and releases a large amount of hostile chemicals. The mine needs an estimated 775,000 acres of pumped water, despite Resolution’s promises to minimize evaporation and having water already stored for the project. Resolution claims to already have enough water to cover half of the expected lifetime, and will continue to look for other solutions. The continual dewatering of the mine site and water pumping will result in the destruction of at least 18 groundwater dependent ecosystems in the local area (many of which are tribal sacred springs) and the associated wildlife.
Now the tribes await their hearing in January, but the corporations seem rather confident in their ability to secure the deal, especially after a meeting with the CEOs of BHP and Rio Tinto and President Donald Trump on Aug. 19. On social media, BHP CEO Mike Henry praised the president and thanked him “for their strong leadership to reinvigorate mining and processing supply chains in and for America.”