U.S. District Judge Dominic Lanza refused to halt a land swap that will allow Resolution Copper to build a huge mine at Oak Flat, a site held as sacred by the Apache people.

The judge conceded that the mine will destroy the sites and could drain water supplies in the area, but allowed the land exchange to proceed.

Environmental groups immediately appealed the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, trying to halt the land swap before an Aug. 19 deadline.

A federal judge has rejected an attempt by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a coalition of environmentalists to stop a contested land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and Resolution Copper.

In a ruling released Aug. 15, Judge Dominic W. Lanza acknowledged that the Resolution Copper mine will destroy one of the Apache

See Full Page