Supreme Court clears way for massive copper mine on Apache sacred land

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2025-05-27/supreme-court-decision-on-proposed-copper-mine-on-apache-sacred-lands

The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear an Apache religious challenge to the construction of a massive copper mine on Oak Flat, a swath of untouched federal land in Arizona that tribe members consider sacred and irreplaceable.

The decision, which leaves intact a lower court’s ruling against the tribe members, marked a major loss for Apache Stronghold, a group that has long argued that the mine’s construction would violate their religious rights by permanently wiping out a unique sacred site used for Apache religious ceremonies.

It allows the U.S. Forest Service to move forward with plans to issue a final environmental impact report and hear a last round of public comment before issuing a decision on transferring the land to Resolution Copper, a joint venture by the multinational mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP Group.

(snip)

However, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote a dissent — joined by his fellow conservative, Justice Clarence Thomas — saying the majority’s decision not to take the case was “a grievous mistake” and “one with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations.”