Opponents are trying to halt final approval of a provision contained in a U.S. defense authorization bill allowing for a massive copper mining project to be built on sacred Apache sacred land.
The land swap - the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act – passed the House last week and the leader of the San Carlos Apache Tribe is asking the Senate not to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act until the provision relating to Apache land is removed.
The 2,4000 acres of land - part of Arizona’s Tonto National Forest that sits atop one of the nation’s largest copper deposits - would be transferred to Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of mining giant Rio Tinto.
Rio Tinto – which has lobbied to obtain the land for years – has said the copper mining operation will generate more than $61 billion in economic benefits and create 3,700 jobs over the next four decades. However, a host of environmental groups and tribal officials dispute those figures and are working against the clock to block the deal.
“China holds an ownership in Rio Tinto and it, not the U.S., will benefit from the copper and other materials extracted from the proposed mine,” said Terry Rambler, San Carlos Apache Chairman. “Rio Tinto has a track record of doing business with Iran, supplying the rogue nation with uranium.”
He added: “This land is where we go to pray, it’s where we have our sunrise ceremony, our coming of age ceremony. It’s where we get our food and where the Creator God put our water resources, and there’s going to be a hole there over an area of two miles in circumference.”
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