United States Forest Service, Resolution Copper complete land exchange

In a news release issued March 16, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service says it has completed the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and issued the final record of decision for the Resolution Copper Project.

The land exchange involves the transfer of more than 5,400 acres of environmentally and culturally sensitive land containing special status species and Native American cultural sites for inclusion in National Forests and National Conservation Areas to the USFS and Bureau of Land Management. In return, Resolution Copper Mining LLC has received more than 2,400 acres of land adjacent to the Magma Copper mine.

Resolution Copper has proposed developing an underground copper mine that, until the exchange was completed, was on National Forest System (NFS) land near the town of Superior in Pinal County, Arizona, approximately 60 miles east of Phoenix, where Resolution Copper holds unpatented mining claims. The land exchange and the proposed mine also include land within the Oak Flat Withdrawal Area that has been withdrawn from entry under the General Mining Law of 1872.

Resolution Copper is a limited liability company that is jointly owned by Rio Tinto (55 percent) and BHP (45 percent), with Rio Tinto as the managing member.

In December 2014, Congress mandated the land exchange pending completion of the environmental impact statement.

The land exchange follows the March 13 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which upheld a district court decision denying a preliminary injunction that sought to halt the exchange. The court determined the Forest Service’s final environmental impact statement constitutes final agency action, satisfying administrative review requirements. With no legal basis to prevent the transfer, the land exchange proceeded under statutory direction established by Congress in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act.

Resolution Copper has the potential to become one of the largest copper mines in the United States. According to the company, the ore deposit at the site lies nearly 7,000 feet below the earth’s surface and represents one of the most significant untapped copper deposits today. The company says the site has 1.79 billion metric tons of copper with an average grade of 1.5 percent copper.

“The national security of America depends on our ability to harness the abundant natural resources we are blessed with in this country. The Resolution Copper project is a prime example of bureaucratic and legal chokeholds preventing our rural communities, supply chains and defense industry from producing the minerals we need right here in America,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins says. “Completing this land exchange unlocks a major domestic source of copper, essential for defense, grid modernization and next-generation energy, and positions the nation to secure its future by expanding mineral production and unleashing America’s full resource potential. This responsible mining project fulfills President Trump’s vision of American mineral independence.”

“This is a remarkable day for both Resolution Copper and Arizonans,” says Vicky Peacey, president and general manager at Resolution Copper, in a news release following the transfer. “We are grateful to President Trump and his administration for making our project a Fast-41 priority and to the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Congress for completing the land exchange that makes this milestone possible. Their leadership has paved the way for one of the most significant private investments in rural Arizona’s history and unlocked the second-largest undeveloped copper deposit in the world.”

She adds, “Resolution Copper would create thousands of high-paying jobs in the Copper Triangle and add an estimated $1 billion a year to Arizona’s economy once in operation. We look forward to continuing to work with local communities and Native American Tribes as Resolution Copper moves to its next phase of development.”

The company says more than a decade of input from various local stakeholders, including the town of Superior and Native American Tribes, has played a critical role in shaping the land exchange process. Based on these engagements, several changes were made to the land exchange, including reducing the total acres of land sought by Resolution Copper, increasing the area of nonfederal conservation lands offered by Resolution Copper and increasing the acreage devoted to the protection of Apache Leap. In addition to continuing partnerships and agreements with Resolution Copper, the town of Superior will be granted land from the Federal Government for economic expansion and diversification opportunities.

“We are thrilled about today’s outcome,” says Superior Mayor Mila Besich. “Resolution Copper has been an excellent community partner over the past decade. Through the land exchange, Arizonans will receive thousands of acres that will become part of two National Conservation Areas, providing long-term conservation, habitat and cultural heritage protection and recreational opportunities.”

Resolution Copper also has announced additional preliminary spending of approximately $500 million over the next two years to support enabling works, including surface drilling to collect additional resource information, closeout and mitigation costs associated with the land exchange and funding to support Native American and local communities. The funds also will deliver upgrades to existing project infrastructure and initial underground development activities, as well as approximately 100 new jobs. These activities will take place in parallel with ongoing collaboration with local communities and Native American Tribes, as well as state-level permitting, the company says.