A U.S. appeals court has temporarily blocked the transfer of federal forest land in Arizona to a pair of international companies that plan to mine one of the largest copper deposits in North America.
The transfer was scheduled for Tuesday. But a panel of judges with the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals issued a temporary injunction late Monday in response to last-minute appeals by a Native American tribe and environmentalists.
The land includes Oak Flat -- an area used for centuries for religious ceremonies, prayer and gathering of medicinal plants by the San Carlos Apache people and other Native American tribes.
The fight over Oak Flat has spanned two decades, with the latest legal wrangling centered on a required environmental review that was released by the U.S. Forest Service earlier this summer and an appraisal of the land to be mined by Resolution Copper about 60 miles (96 kilometers) east of Phoenix.
Before the land exchange can happen, the plaintiffs argued that the federal government must prepare a comprehensive review that covers "every aspect of the planned mine and all related infrastructure." They said the government failed to consider the potential for a dam breach, pipeline failure and if there was an emergency plan for a tailings storage area.
As for the appraisal, they said it doesn't account for the value of the copper deposits that are at least 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below the surface.
The appeals court plans to hear arguments on the merits of the case later this year.
Opponents of the mine consider the court action a victory, saying prayers are paying off.
"This injunction comes in a desperate time of asking for miracles, all over the country and all over the world," Wendsler Nosie Sr. of the group Apache Stronghold said in a statement shared on social media.
Nosie, a former tribal chairman, described the land and water at Oak Flat as precious.
Apache Stronghold, the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other plaintiffs having been fighting for years to save what tribal members call Chi'chil Bildagoteel. The area is dotted with oak groves and traditional plants the Apaches consider essential to their religion.
"We will continue praying that the court understands the grave injustice of trading our sacred grounds to foreign mining companies that seek to destroy Chí'chil Bi?dagoteel to extract copper that will be exported overseas," Tribal Chairman Terry Rambler said in statement.
Resolution Copper -- a subsidiary of international mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP -- estimates the mine will generate $1 billion a year for Arizona's economy and create thousands of jobs. The project has support in the nearby community of Superior.
Resolution Copper has said the project underwent an extensive review by the U.S. Forest Service that has included consultation with tribes that have ancestral ties to the land.
"The collaborative process has directly led to major changes to the mining plan to preserve and reduce potential impacts on tribal, social, environmental and cultural interests," the company stated.
The Forest Service has argued in court filings that it has no discretion because the land exchange was mandated by Congress when language was included in a must-pass national defense spending bill that was signed into law in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama.
There have been unsuccessful legislative attempts in the years since to withdraw the Oak Flat area from mining activity.
