US appeals court puts the brakes on contested land transfer in Arizona

PHOENIX — 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 tribe celebrated the pause. But President Donald Trump, in a social media post, said delaying the transfer by months will affect those people who are depen