By Ernest Scheyder
(Reuters) -A U.S. federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from transferring land to Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) and BHP for a copper mine opposed by Native Americans, citing the Supreme Court’s ongoing deliberations in the complex case.
The long-running fight over the Resolution Copper project pits the religious rights of Arizona’s San Carlos Apache people against rising demand for copper for the energy transition and Washington’s drive to expand minerals production.
In an 18-page order, U.S. District Judge Steven Logan said the Apache Stronghold - a nonprofit group of the Apache and their allies - is likely to succeed in its appeal to the Supreme Court and thus the land transfer should be halted for now.
"It is abundantly clear that the balance of equities tips sharply in (Apache Stronghold’s) favor, and that even in the short term, they have established a likelihood of irreparable harm should the transfer proceed," Logan said.
The dispute centers on the federally owned Oak Flat Campground where many Apache worship their deities. The site sits atop a reserve of more than 40 billion pounds (18.1 million metric tons) of copper, a crucial component of electric vehicles and nearly every electronic device.
The Resolution project would, if built, cause a crater 2 miles (3 km) wide and 1,000 feet (304 m) deep that would slowly engulf that worship site.
Since 2021, courts have rejected a request by the Apache to block the transfer. The rulings deferred to a 2014 decision made by the U.S. Congress and then-President Barack Obama.
President Donald Trump started the land transfer in his first term, a move undone by successor Joe Biden while the issue wound its way through courts.
The U.S. Supreme Court is now considering whether to take the case. The Supreme Court has said at least 13 times it will continue to deliberate on the appeal request, an unusually long time frame.
Meanwhile, Trump last month restarted the land transfer process, with his administration aiming to complete it as soon as June 16, a move that prompted the emergency request to Logan.
Logan said in his Friday ruling "there is good reason to anticipate" that the Supreme Court will take the case, adding that Rio and BHP’s promises they would maintain public access to the land for as long as safely possible "are insufficient," as they are not legally binding.
Logan swept aside a Rio executive’s testimony - made at a hearing earlier this week - of the $2.7 billion spent on Resolution thus far and an additional $11 million a month on maintenance as the company’s "voluntary choice."
In a statement to Reuters, Rio said it was reviewing the district court’s ruling.
"This short-term order ... changes nothing about the merits of the legal issues currently before the Supreme Court," said a Rio spokesperson.
BHP, which owns 45% of the project to Rio’s 55%, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wendsler Nosie, one of Apache Stronghold’s leaders, said he was "grateful the judge stopped this land grab in its tracks so that the Supreme Court has time to protect Oak Flat from destruction."