Dec 3, 2014 | Arizona Mining Oversight, Oak Flat Mining |
We have learned today that the House of Representatives leadership is trying to add the Oak Flat land exchange to the National Defense Authorization Act as part of a package of public lands bills. Your help is needed immediately to contact your Representative and ask him/her to oppose the Oak Flat land exchange (HR 687) under any circumstances and especially as a rider onto a Defense bill.
The Oak Flat land exchange is the only bill in this Congress that would give a Native American sacred site on public lands to a foreign mining company, would be the largest single loss of recreational opportunities on public land, and would circumvent the normal process of permitting mines located on public land. The House leadership brought the land exchange to the House floor for a vote twice a year ago, but pulled it at the last minute because they could not defeat an amendment to the bill that would have prevented the privatization of an public land that is sacred.
Why is it that at the end of every Congress, Rio Tinto’s supporters try to sneak the land exchange through Congress in the dead of night?
Send a letter to your Representative to stop the Oak Flat land exchange now!
Dec 1, 2014 | Action Alert, Arizona Mining Oversight, Oak Flat Mining |
Congress has returned for a final session and some Senators may attempt to bundle the Oak Flat Land Exchange, S. 339, with other bills that deal with public lands.
Most of these bill are good bills, but adding the Oak Flat land exchange to the package would poison the entire bill.
S. 339 is a land exchange that foreign-owned Rio Tinto mining company has convinced Arizona members of Congress to introduce on their behalf, a giveaway of land that is sacred to the San Carlos Apache tribe. The bill would be the only bill in Congress that would give away a sacred site to a foreign corporation, would be the largest loss of recreational climbing on public lands, and would overturn a ban on mining at Oak Flat that was put in place by President Eisenhower.
This is nothing new. At the end of every Congress, Rio Tinto’s supporters in Congress try to bypass normal procedure by attaching the land exchange to an unrelated piece of legislation. They know they cannot pass the land exchange in the light of day, so they resort to these behind the scenes maneuvers.
We’ve helped to stop this bill before, now we need your help to do it again!
Tell your Senator that privatizing federally protected lands and turning them over to a foreign mining corporation without federal environmental review or public input isn’t right. Sacred sites, recreation and the sensitive ecological area surrounding Oak Flat are more important than a copper mine.
Tell your Senator to save Oak Flat from foreign mining companies!
Jul 16, 2014 | Arizona Mining Oversight, Oak Flat Mining |
The 23rd annual Mount Graham sacred run will take place this weekend on July 18 and 19. The run will start near the top of Mount Graham on Friday July 18 and arrive at Oak Flat campground late afternoon on Friday.
Saturday, July 19th will be a day of Ceremony and prayer to celebrate the sacredness of Oak Flat and Mount Graham.
The run is being coordinated by the Spirit of the Mountain Runners, who are native peoples and their supporters committed to maintaining a traditional Native American way of life.
All are welcome to come to Oak Flat Campground (just east of Superior off of Highway 60 — follow the signs from Highway 60 to the campground).
Schedule of events for Saturday:
8:00 Morning Blessing and Ceremony
11:00 Tribal leaders speak
12:00 Lunch
1:30 Speakers from all walks of life
4:00 Church service by Emmanuel Baptist Church Rev.
Mendez from Winston Salem, NC
7:30 Social dancing
For more information see the press advisory.
You can follow the progress of the run by going to our twitter feed @Save_Oak_Flat
Jun 24, 2014 | Arizona Mining Oversight, Oak Flat Mining |
The Arizona Mining Reform Coalition filed comments today to the US Forest Service (Tonto National Forest) on Rio Tinto’s invasive testing plan for their proposed tailings location near Oak Flat. According to Rio Tinto’s current plans, this is the only location they are actively considering for dumping a Picket Post sized mountain of toxic tailings should they be allowed to mine under Oak Flat.
The comments were filed on behalf of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the Access Fund, the Center for Biological Diversity, Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Coalition, Concerned Climbers of Arizona, Earthworks, Environment Arizona, the Maricopa Audubon Society, Native Youth Unite, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, Sierra Club — Grand Canyon Chapter, Spirit of the Mountain Runners, Tucson Audubon Society, John Krieg and Roger Featherstone.
Here is a copy of the comments.
Among the hundreds of comments were those submitted by the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, and the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona.
Jun 19, 2014 | Action Alert, Arizona Mining Oversight, Oak Flat Mining |
The US Forest Service has issued a call for scoping comments on a proposal to conduct invasive Hydrological and Geotechnical testing for Rio Tinto’s proposed toxic tailings location for their proposed mine at Oak Flat.
The comment period for this action is now closed. Thanks to everyone that took action.
Rio Tinto’s toxic tailings location is between the towns of Superior and Queen Valley and right in the middle of the Queen Creek watershed. The toxic tailings location would heavily affect Boyce Thompson Arboretum, a world-class botanical preserve.
In June of 2013, Rio Tinto (through its wholly owned and controlled subsidiary, Resolution Copper), submitted a plan of operations to conduct invasive testing of nearly 25 square miles of public land managed by the US Forest Service. In November of 2013, Rio Tinto (again as Resolution Copper) submitted a plan of operations for their entire mine complex at Oak Flat which includes an underground block cave mine, a processing facility, and a toxic tailings pile. This proposed action would allow the testing to determine whether Rio Tinto’s selected toxic tailings location is even possible.
The US Forest Service is calling for public comments to help them identify the issues that should be looked at as they move forward with the NEPA process for invasive testing for this possible toxic tailings location.
Incredibly, the Forest Service is not planning to include any mention of the full mine design in its analysis of the impacts of this project. It is absurd to believe that somehow testing for this tailings location is not connected to Rio Tinto’s full mine design. Rio Tinto plans to excavate a cubic mile of rock and ore from beneath the surface of Oak Flat. Unless they have a location to dump this mountain of toxic waste, they cannot mine under Oak Flat.
Please go to our alert for more information and for a sample comment letter that you can revise. The sample letter will give you a number of ideas that you can use.
Thanks,
Roger Featherstone, Director
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Go to the action page.
- Send/amend the sample letter at action page bottom.
Personalized emails & email subject headers make a much greater impact.
- For more information, go to the action page.
Thanks for taking action
Mar 15, 2014 | Arizona Mining Oversight, Oak Flat Mining
For nearly ten years, Rio Tinto has avoided divulging any real details of its proposed huge underground block cave mine under Oak Flat. Instead, Rio Tinto has spent their time trying to convince the US Congress to pass special interest legislation that would privatize Oak Flat and avoid most of the federal process for permitting mine on public land.
Last November, in an effort to revive their floundering 12 version of the Oak Flat land exchange bill, Rio Tinto bowed to pressure from both sides, and released a mining plan. Rio Tinto’s PR since the release of the plan has been “we gave you the plan, now give us the land exchange.”
Dec 31, 2013 | Arizona Mining Oversight |
Please make a charitable contribution to the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition.
Last year was a good year for us, but there is much more to do in 2014. We need your financial support. Please make a donation to the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition so we can continue our work to protect Oak Flat, the Santa Rita Mountains, and Arizona’s many lands and waters threatened by inappropriate mining projects.
We have accomplished much in 2013:
Nov 13, 2013 | Arizona Mining Oversight, Oak Flat Mining
Rio Tinto plans to submit a mining plan of operations to the US Forest Service early next week regarding their dream of building a mine at Oak Flat. Curiously, Rio Tinto has stated that the plan will not be available to the public until next year!
Rio Tinto has gone to great lengths to avoid filing a plan since 2004, opting instead to cajole the US Congress to pass a bill giving them Oak Flat without detailing how destructive a mine at Oak Flat would be to sacred, ecologically critical, and recreationally important lands.
The submitting of the plan is timed to jump start HR 687 in the US House of Representatives, which was stalled in October when the bill was poised for a vote on the House floor but was pulled by the House leadership. The bill’s sponsors in the House were worried that the Lujan amendment (which forbids the Secretary of Agriculture from giving any sacred lands at Oak Flat to Rio Tinto) would pass, effectively scuttling the land exchange itself. The US Senate has scheduled a hearing on the Senate version of the bill, S 339 for November 20.
Nov 13, 2013 | Action Alert, Arizona Mining Oversight, Oak Flat Mining
HR 687 is scheduled to come to the House floor today, November 13. 
Please contact your Representative now and ask him/her to vote YES on the Lujan amendment to HR 687 and to vote NO on the Oak Flat land exchange (HR 687).
The Lujan amendment would prevent the Secretary of Agriculture from giving any sacred land to RIo Tinto.
Sep 14, 2013 | Action Alert, Arizona Mining Oversight, Oak Flat Mining |
Please take action today to stop HR 687 to protect Oak Flat!
The vote is now scheduled for September 26, this Thursday. Please act now!
The US House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Oak Flat land Exchange, HR 687, September 26. HR 687 is the 12th version of the land exchange that Rio Tinto has convinced Arizona members of Congress to introduce on their behalf, and the worst of the lot.
There are many reasons that this bill is a bad idea and should be defeated. Please contact your Representative and tell him or her to vote no on HR 687, the Oak Flat land exchange.
The Oak Flat land exchange (HR 687):
