The Trump administration has completed a contentious and congressionally approved land swap in Arizona that’s ignited regulatory and political fights for decades, clearing the way for the construction of a massive copper mine on land that tribal members consider sacred.
The Forest Service on Friday transferred 2,422 acres of Arizona’s Tonto National Forest land — including 740 acres of the Oak Flat Historic District — to Resolution Copper, according to documents filed with the Supreme Court.
Resolution Copper, a joint venture between mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, is poised to build one of the largest underground copper mines in North America.
The land swap, which has churned up years of litigation that reached the Supreme Court and battles on Capitol Hill, was included in a rider that the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) helped attach to a must-pass National Defense Authorization Act in 2014. The bill gained Senate approval, and President Barack Obama signed it into law.
