Federal judge denies bid to halt land swap for copper mine at Oak Flat

A federal judge in Phoenix denied two motions that sought to halt a land swap for a huge copper mine at Oak Flat, a site east of Phoenix.

A different judge blocked the government from issuing its final environmental impact statement for the exchange, but it expired after the Supreme Court declined to hear another suit in the case.

Representatives for tribal communities and environmental advocates said the mine will destroy a site sacred to Indigenous peoples and permanently damage fragile habitat.

A federal judge in Phoenix has denied two motions for preliminary injunctions that sought to halt a land swap that would transfer ownership of Oak Flat, a parcel of U.S. Forest land located 60 miles east of Phoenix, to a company that intends to open a huge copper mine.

In a packed courtroom o