Click the link to read the article on the AZCentral website (Debra Utacia Krol). Here’s an excerpt:
August 7, 2025
Key Points
- The value of the copper beneath Oak Flat drew the attention of a judge hearing arguments to halt a land swap needed to build a huge mine.
- The federal judge asked attorneys for Resolution Copper and the federal government what could stop the land exchange, which is required by law.
- No timetable was given for a ruling in the case, but the land swap could occur as early as Aug. 19 if a court doesn’t block it.
U.S. District Court Judge Dominic W. Lanza heard arguments from the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a consortium of environmentalists on Aug. 6 as they seek to overturn a disputed land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and Resolution Copper. Lanza likened the day’s “very complicated exercise” to pounding a square nail into a round hole. Much of the back-and-forth during the five-hour hearing centered around a 2022 appraisal of a 766-acre plot at Oak Flat, the Tonto National Forest campground at the heart of the struggle. Roger Flynn, who represented the environmentalists and inter tribal coalition, argued that the appraisal lacked one essential element: the value of the copper underneath the surface. Some estimates say that about 40 billion pounds of copper lie beneath Oak Flat, currently valued at $4.40 per pound…
Attorneys from the federal government and Resolution Copper, which has sought to obtain Oak Flat to mine for copper, squared off with lawyers from the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition and the San Carlos Apache Tribe, supported by the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona and several environmental organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity and the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club. Although there was no set date for Lanza to rule, he said he was cognizant of the need to rule soon as a 60-day review period nears an end. If no judge intervenes, the land exchange could be finalized as soon as Aug. 19.