How Apache Stronghold’s fight to protect Oak Flat in central Arizona has played out over the years
How Apache Stronghold’s fight to protect Oak Flat in central Arizona has played out over the years

  Oak Flat, near where a copper mine is proposed, is dotted with rugged boulders and desert vegetation.  Bri Cossavella/Cronkite News  By Anita Snow THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOENIX (AP)-Oak Flat, a piece of national forest land in central Arizona, is at the heart of a yearslong struggle between Native American groups and mining interests that both consider it important for their future.   Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of international mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, wants to develop the large deposit of copper ore deep under Oak Flat into a massive mine. The nonprofit Apache Stronghold considers the land sacred and says it should be preserved for religious ceremonies.   In a significant blow to Apache Stronghold, a divided federal court panel voted 6-5 on Friday to uphold a lower

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