"9th Circuit Keeps Massive Ariz. Copper Mine On Ice"

"A federal appeals court yesterday affirmed a 2019 ruling that axed a key approval for a $1.9 billion proposed Arizona copper mine and ignited debate over U.S. mining law.

In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a federal judge was right to invalidate the Forest Service’s approval of Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals Inc.’s massive open-pit Rosemont mine near Tucson in the Coronado National Forest and Santa Rita Mountains.

Two 9th Circuit judges said the Forest Service “de facto amended” the 1872 General Mining Act and other statutes “to give Rosemont what it wants” — the ability to keep waste rock on nearly 2,500 acres of national forest lands where no mill sites have been built and where no valuable minerals are located."

Pamela King reports for E&E News May 13, 2022.