It's a project that could generate a lot of money in Arizona and, according to some, could bring new life to a town that was once in Arizona's mining country. However, religious and environmental worries meant the project is now mired in a court battle. FOX 10's Lauren Clark has more on the Oak Flat mine proposal.
The Brief
PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. - The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from an Arizona tribe fighting to halt the construction of a copper mining project on federal land that they hold sacred. The justices left in place lower court decisions allowing the transfer of the Tonto National Forest land, known as
Oak Flat , to Resolution Copper, which plans to mine what it says is the second-largest known copper deposit in the world,
the Associated Press reported on May 27 . The Trump administration has said it will push to complete the transfer. Apache Stronghold, a group representing the interests of certain members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, has argued that the land transfer will result in the
destruction of the site in violation of its members’ religious rights .
A small Arizona town that once had a thriving mining industry could soon be near the center of a mining project that some say has the potential to pump an estimated $1 billion into the Arizona economy over decades. However, the project is facing some stiff opposition over environmental and religious worries.
Map of Oak Flat
The Source
Information for this story was gathered from an Associated Press report on May 27, 2025, and a previous FOX 10 report on Aug. 10, 2023.
