Trump Criticizes Court Decision to Block Major Arizona Copper Mine Land Transfer

The land transfer for the mining project was originally approved by Congress and signed off on by President Barack Obama in 2014.
Trump Criticizes Court Decision to Block Major Arizona Copper Mine Land Transfer
Campers utilize Oak Flat Campground in the Tonto National Forest, in Miami, Ariz., on June 9, 2023. Matt York/AP Photo
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A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked a land transfer for a major Arizona copper mine, prompting a rebuke from President Donald Trump.

On Aug. 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a temporary administrative injunction to halt a congressionally mandated land exchange that would have given control of a large tract of land in Tonto National Forest in Arizona to international mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP.