Two years after the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit, the U.S. Forest Service has released its appraisals for the proposed Oak Flat land exchange and mining project in Arizona.
As anticipated, the appraisals reveal a significant imbalance: if the land swap proceeds, Resolution Copper would gain land worth billions more than what it is offering in return. Oak Flat — located east of Phoenix — is not only the center of the proposed mine, but also a sacred Indigenous site, a beloved campground, and a globally recognized destination for outdoor recreation.
“We’ve long known the public would be screwed over by this terrible land swap, and now we’ve got the receipts,” said Marc Fink, a senior attorney at the Center. “Handing Oak Flat over to Resolution Copper would be a catastrophe for the Tribes in the region and an environmental disaster for Arizona. The appraisal shows it’d also be a multibillion-dollar gift to this international mining company. The land swap is a horrible deal for the American people and it should be scrapped.”…