A mining company won’t stop trying to bend the rules to construct a massive mine on sacred lands – even after Tribes beat it in court.

9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Landmark Ruling Blocking Arizona Copper Mine

In victory for the Tohono O’odham Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and the Hopi Tribe, ruling stops mine that would have destroyed ancestral lands

Tribes’ Memorandum In Support Of Motion for Temporary Restraining Order to prevent the Rosemont Copper Company from grading the west side of the Santa Rita Mountains and discharging fill material into jurisdictional waters of the United States.

Rosemont commenced bulldozing the site without notifying Tribes, causing irreversible harm to cultural resources

Stu Gillespie, Attorney, Rocky Mountain Office, Earthjustice: “It is further proof that the Trump administration’s abrupt decision to forgo any consultation with the tribes on the Rosemont mine [jurisdictional determination] was not just unlawful, but based on irresponsible and indefensible policy. The corps must own up to this error by revoking the Rosemont JD and…

Stu Gillespie, Attorney, Rocky Mountain Office, Earthjustice: "It's as if the government is playing two different tunes."

The Tohono O’odham Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and the Hopi Tribe asked a federal judge to stop mine company from destroying their heritage

The Tohono O’odham Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and the Hopi Tribe asked a federal judge to stop destruction set to wipe out Tribes’ irreplaceable heritage in mere months.

Pursuant to F.R.C.P. 65, the Tohono O’odham Nation, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and Hopi Tribe respectfully request a preliminary injunction to prevent the Rosemont Copper Company from undertaking any ground-disturbing activities approved by the Forest Service in its June, 2017 Record of Decision or pursuant to Rosemont’s March 20, 2019 revised Mine Plan of Operations.

Plaintiffs Tohono O’odham Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and the Hopi Tribe move the Court for immediate injunctive relief barring Rosemont Copper Company from commencing the development of a new, mile-wide, open-pit copper mine southwest of Tucson. The project will ultimately disinter ancestral remains, obliterate archaeological and cultural sites, and permanently scar the natural beauty of the Santa Rita Mountains. Given the important and unique resources at risk, an injunction pending the Court’s final decision on the merits of this case is necessary and appropriate.

Pursuant to F.R.C.P. 65, the Tohono O’odham Nation, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and Hopi Tribe respectfully request a preliminary injunction to prevent Rosemont Copper Company from undertaking any ground-disturbing activities authorized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit or the U.S. Forest Service’s revised Mining Plan of Operations, which relied upon the 404 Permit.

The Santa Rita Mountains rise as a “sky island” from the desert south of Tucson, Arizona. They are a place of remarkable scenic beauty that contain some of the highest quality streams and wetland ecosystems in the American Southwest. This is also a landscape imbued with cultural significance, whose waters and wildlife have sustained Native American cultural and religious life for over 10,000 years. For the Tohono O’odham Nation, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and Hopi Tribe, these mountains are a place of prayer and respect that must be safeguarded for future generations.

The Tohono O’odham Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and the Hopi Tribe ask judge for emergency measure to stop destruction that will wipe out Tribes’ priceless heritage in mere months

The Tohono O’odham Nation; Pascua Yaqui Tribe; and Hopi Tribe are filing a complaint against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in re: the proposed Rosemont Mining Company's plans to excavate a mile-wide, half-mile deep pit to extract copper — a proposal that would spell the permanent devastation of this important center of Native American cultural and religious life, degrade the
Cienega Creek watershed, and destroy an intricate network of drainages containing some of the highest quality streams and wetland ecosystems in Arizona.

Mine in Arizona would desecrate burial sites and historic places, and destroy streams and groundwater resources

The Tohono O’odham Nation, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and the Hopi Tribe filed a complaint in U.S. District Court challenging the approval by the U.S. Forest Service of a plan by Hudbay Minerals Inc. of Canada to develop a sprawling toxic open pit copper mine on public land. The tribes are represented by Earthjustice.

Mine would desecrate burial sites and historic places, and destroy streams and groundwater resources