BHP, Rio Tinto backed by Donald Trump for development of US copper project despite tribe concerns

Two of Australia’s biggest mining companies have got the backing of US President Donald Trump for their planned joint development of an American copper project.

BHP and Rio Tinto want to mine one of the largest copper deposits in North America, if they can get a hoped-for transfer of federal forest land in Arizona.

The transfer was scheduled for Tuesday local time.

But a panel of judges with the 9th US District Court of Appeals issued a temporary injunction on Monday following a last-minute appeal by a Native American tribe and environmentalists, the Associated Press reported.

The land includes Oak Flat, an area used for centuries for religious ceremonies, prayer and gathering of medicinal plants by the San Carlos Apache people and other Native American tribes.

As the tribe celebrated the success of their appeal, US President Donald Trump said delaying the transfer by months would hurt people depending on new jobs and the nation’s ability to access copper domestically, and blamed “radical left activists”.

Mr Trump’s post came after he met with the chief executives of BHP and Rio Tinto at the White House on Wednesday.

Rio boss Jakob Stausholm confirmed the meeting on his LinkedIn profile, saying the project was “crucial”.

“It was great to be joined by BHP’s CEO Mike Henry as we outlined the enormous potential of this project to provide domestic copper and other critical minerals for decades to come,” he wrote.

The fight over Oak Flat has spanned two decades, according to the Associated Press.

The latest legal battle centres on a required environmental review released by the US Forest Service earlier in 2025 and an appraisal of the land to be mined by Resolution Copper, which lies 96 kilometres east of Phoenix.

Before the land exchange can happen, the plaintiffs argued the federal government must prepare a comprehensive review that covers “every aspect of the planned mine and all related infrastructure”.

They said the government had failed to consider the potential for a dam breach, pipeline failure and whether there was an emergency plan for a tailings storage area.

They also said the appraisal doesn’t account for the value of the copper deposits that are at least 1.5km below the surface.

The court will hear arguments on the merits of the case later in 2025.

“This injunction comes in a desperate time of asking for miracles, all over the country and all over the world,” Wendsler Nosie Sr, from the group Apache Stronghold, said in a statement posted on social media.

Mr Nosie, a former tribal chairman, described the land and water at Oak Flat as precious.

Resolution Copper - a subsidiary of international mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP - estimates the mine will generate $US1 billion ($A1.6 billion) a year for Arizona’s economy and create thousands of jobs.

The project has already undergone an extensive review by the US Forest Service, which included consultation with local tribes, it said.

“The collaborative process has directly led to major changes to the mining plan to preserve and reduce potential impacts on tribal, social, environmental and cultural interests,” the company said.

with AP