Members of the San Carlos Apache tribe may be preparing to file suit in the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent the mining of copper deposits roughly 60 miles east of Phoenix.
The reported action comes as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled in favor of the company Resolution Copper, affirming ownership of the land where the mining operation will take place.
The site for the operation includes the desert setting of Oak Flat, which has historically been used by the San Carlos tribe for religious ceremonies.
Resolution Copper has said that it wants to carve out a 1,000-foot-deep crater, measuring two miles in width for its mining enterprise. According to published reports, the project, once operable, will have a lifespan of at least 40 years.
A joint effort between the large mining companies BHP Group Limited and Rio Tinto, Resolution Copper has said that it intends to spend upwards of $500 million between now and 2028 building the mining infrastructure, along with initial underground development.
The San Carlos Apache tribe had earlier filed suit hoping to block the transfer of land for the project, saying the site in question is sacred. In an earlier ruling, notes the Phoenix Business Journal, the Ninth Circuit maintained that the land transfer was “not subject to federal laws protecting religious freedom in a tight 6 to 5 decision.”
Now a group of Apache women have said that they want to return to the Supreme Court in what has been described as a “last-ditch effort” to stop the project.
The White House has been a prominent advocate of the Resolution Copper project. In a statement, Brooke Rollins, the Secretary of Agriculture, remarked that “completing this land exchange unlocks a major domestic source of copper, essential for defense, grid modernization, and next-generation energy.”
Rollins added that the project will additionally serve to unleash “America’s full resource potential.”
BHP Group and Rio Tinto established the joint venture for the project in 2004. An initial environmental approval was rescinded by the Biden administration, only for that approval to be reinstated last summer.
March 19, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
