PHOENIX— A federal judge in Arizona will hear arguments Wednesday in two related cases on motions seeking to stop the Oak Flat land exchange until the lawsuits are resolved.

Wednesday’s hearing follows a June 6 hearing on similar motions filed by Tribal, environmental and recreation groups. The judge paused the land exchange for 60 days to allow the parties time to review a recently issued environmental analysis and consider other legal issues. Without further action, the public lands about 40 miles east of Phoenix are expected to be handed over to a private mining company on Aug. 19.

What: Oral arguments before U.S. District Judge Dominic W. Lanza on preliminary injunction requests challenging the Oak Flat land exchange.

When: 10:45 a.m., Wednesday, August 6.

Where: Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse, 401 W. Washington St., Phoenix, Arizona, 85003.

Who: Attorney Bernardo Velasco will argue on behalf of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Roger Flynn of the Western Mining Action Project will argue on behalf of plaintiffs in the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition case.

One lawsuit was filed by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the other by conservation and recreation groups (Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, Earthworks, the Center for Biological Diversity, Access Fund and Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter) and the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona, Inc.

A third lawsuit filed by Apache Stronghold is on a separate schedule. A fourth case was filed July 24, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, by Apache women seeking to stop the land exchange, and was transferred to the U.S. District Court for Arizona on August 1.

Background
The Trump administration is pushing the transfer of more than 2,400 acres of federal public lands to Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of multinational mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP. The purpose is to facilitate construction of a massive copper mine that would permanently destroy Oak Flat, a sacred site of tremendous spiritual importance to the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other Tribes in the region.

The federal lands to be exchanged, including Oak Flat, are also home to endangered and threatened species like ocelots and Arizona hedgehog cacti. They provide invaluable recreational and ecological benefits.

Resolution intends to cave in Oak Flat’s rolling hills, leaving a crater up to two miles wide and 1,000 feet deep, using a new technique to excavate the ore body 7,000 feet underground. Massive amounts of groundwater would be pumped, depleting surface waters, obliterating sacred land, and threatening water availability across the region. Material removed from the mine would spread toxic waste across thousands of acres of public land.