Today, London Mining Network along with seven other environmental and Human Rights organisations wrote to Jakob Stausholm, CEO of Rio Tinto PLC on the issues of the company’s controversial plans for Oak Flat, Arizona. The US Forest Service is currently under pressure from the outgoing Trump administration to give Rio Tinto’s subsidiary, Resolution Copper (which wants to build a block cave copper mine), the sacred Oak Flat within the Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District, before a new US President is sworn in on January 20.
This project would involve the transfer of 2,200 acres (890 hectares) of Tonto National Forest lands out of public ownership and convey them to your company for development of a copper mine that would result in a crater 1,000 feet (305 metres) deep and two miles (3.2 kilometres) wide. Following Rio Tinto’s commitment to never repeat its destruction of important traditional and sacred heritage sites after Juukan Gorge, the letter calls on Rio Tinto to abandon the plans for Resolution Copper. The full text of the letter is below: