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 Trump administration has said it will push to complete the transfer.
A group known as Apache Stronghold, 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.
Apache tribes in Arizona consider Oak Flat, which is dotted with ancient oak groves and traditional plants, essential to their spiritual well-being.
An estimated 40 billion pounds of copper could be mined over the lifetime of the mine, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The US fucking over natives in favor of the rich, what a surprise. Gawd I hate it here.
We can thank Senator John “but he’s a good guy” McCain for cramming this fucking land transfer into a 2014 Defense Department spending measure, under the guise of national security. So glad we’re safe, now.
God, I remember when this happened. McCain slid a land swap into a defense funding bill as a giveaway for this mining company. The tribe wasn’t consulted, ofc, McCain decided unilaterally that the tribe should just have this land over here instead of that land because my rich friends really want that land. In a just world, it would have been the scandal of scandals, and it would have immediately been struck down. But here we are, everything’s a fucking scam, you’ve got rights as long as they don’t get in the way of someone’s profit.
Capitalism can suck my left nut. Its destroying our fucking planet, and we dont exactly have a backup.
It would be a shame if all those permits they’ll be required to submit to the state never get approved.
