A federal appeals court Monday temporarily blocked a land exchange in Arizona just hours before it could have been completed, halting construction of a massive underground copper mine on land that tribes consider sacred.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the Trump administration from completing a land exchange at a site called Oak Flat near Superior, Arizona.
Congress more than a decade ago approved the transfer of about 2,400 acres of federal land — including the Oak Flat site — to Resolution Copper to advance construction of an underground copper mine. The deal was originally included in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act and championed by the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
The appeals court said it was halting the exchange to consider challenges that opponents including the San Carlos Apache Tribe have brought against the project on an expedited schedule. The decision arrived right as a 60-day review period for a final environmental impact statement for the land exchange wrapped up.
