• Education
    • Higher Education
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • Online Learning
    • School Reforms
    • Research & Innovation
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Home & Living
    • Relationships & Family
  • Technology & Startups
    • Software & Apps
    • Startup Success Stories
    • Startups & Innovations
    • Tech Regulations
    • Venture Capital
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Gadgets & Devices
    • Industry Analysis
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
Today Headline
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
Today Headline
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Environment Environmental Policies

Save Arizona’s Oak Flat from Mining

March 12, 2025
in Environmental Policies
Reading Time: 8 mins read
A A
0
Save Arizona’s Oak Flat from Mining
4
SHARES
9
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


What is Oak Flat?

In 1955 President Dwight D. Eisenhower extended the borders of Arizona’s Tonto National Forest to include an area called Oak Flat. Eisenhower’s land order protects Oak Flat and the other regions from all “forms of appropriation … including mining but not reserved to mineral-leasing laws.” Well before this, however, it was a place of cultural and spiritual importance to indigenous peoples. 

Since 1955, decades of protection have allowed a flourishing ecosystem to harbor unique and, in some cases, endangered plants and wildlife. Aside from that, it ensured that indigenous peoples, such as the Apache, were able to continue their religious practices freely. 

Unfortunately, the area faces an existential threat – two mining companies are trying to  acquire more than 2,000 acres in and around Oak Flat. If the land were to lose  the protections granted by Pres. Eisenhower, it could be the site of a large-scale copper mine that will endanger the integrity of the land and the life it supports. 





USFS | Public Domain

The Land Swap 

The threat to Oak Flat began in 2014. Flying under the radar as an amendment of a 2014 defense-spending bill, Congress approved a land swap that removed the area’s mining restrictions. The process exchanged land held by the mining company Resolution Copper for this swath of sacred and protected land. 

Resolution Copper is a joint venture between two, foreign mining giants, BHP and Rio Tinto. These companies have been accused of disregarding the effects their mines have on cultural and natural sites. Rio Tinto recently destroyed a tens-of-thousand-year-old aboriginal site in Western Australia. BHP has suffered similar accusations. These companies are now poised to undergo an enormous mining operation in an area sacred to the Apache and other tribes. 





USDA | Public Domain

The environment of Oak Flat

The area in and around Oak Flat is home to a unique variety of plants and animals. Its adjacency to other protected areas improves the biodiversity of the area. The protections it currently enjoys allow healthy and endangered populations to coexist unreservedly. 

Animals such as the regal horned lizard and the American goshawk are common across Oak Flat and Arizona more broadly. Habitat destruction could prove an issue in the future, especially considering the increase in mines and patchwork of land protections. Unfortunately, many of the plants and animals in the Oak Flat are already endangered. 





NPS | Public Domain

The hedgehog cactus, for example, has been on the endangered species list since 1979. Much of this plant’s range is within the confines of the proposed Resolution Copper Mine. The ocelot, a similarly endangered species, often ranges into Oak Flat. Once roaming the American Southwest, the populations of these cats have dramatically dwindled, largely due to habitat destruction. An extensive mining operation could pose inexcusable threats to these species already hamstrung by habitat loss. 





USFS | Public Domain

Oak Flat is adjacent to the Ga’an Canyon, an ecosystem that hosts numerous species and a vibrant riparian zone. Riparian zones, the land that surrounds bodies of water, are fragile in an environment such as the American Southwest due to the arid climate. These areas make up less than two percent  of land in the southwest, yet host an outsized diversity of plants and wildlife. The Resolution Copper mine’s operations could remove groundwater, a source of the Ga’an River. Drying of the Ga’an River could destroy the riparian ecosystem that depends on it. 

Oak Flat is a vulnerable environment. The Ga’an River and the lush ecosystems it enables are similarly fragile. The Resolution Copper Mine puts both in considerable and unjust jeopardy. 





USDA | Public Domain

Threats Posed by the Resolution Copper Mine

Oak Flat and the Ga’an River are beautiful, yet vulnerable ecosystems. The Resolution Copper Mine will be substantial and could pose a risk to thousands of acres of wild land. The mining companies plan to use a mining strategy called “Block Caving.” This method involves hollowing out the ground underneath the surface and extracting ore from within. 

Ideally, block cave mining leaves the surface intact but these mines often experience a catastrophe called subsidence (a situation in which the surface caves into the hollowed-out earth). Subsidence is not a guarantee with block cave mining but the risk increases at depths below 1,400m sub-surface. Unfortunately, the Resolution Copper Mine plans to operate at a depth of between 1,500m – 2130m.





Colorado Geological Survey | Public Domain
A major subsidence incident in April 1979 over the Klondike Mine, located in the Rockrimmon area of Colorado Springs, Photo credit: Bruce Stover for the CGS.

BHP and Rio Tinto have a history of alleged negligence regarding their mining operations and the vulnerable sites they surround. Were the Resolution Copper Mine to cave in, a vibrant ecosystem and sacred land would be consumed. 

The Green Economy

Certain minerals, such as copper, are integral to a “green economy.” Demand for copper is expected to double in the coming decades. That said, not all of our resources need to come from new mines. Copper is unique in that it is 100% recyclable, which means it can be reused without a drop in performance. Before searching under vulnerable ecosystems for these minerals, we should first look at recycling the existing copper found in unused electronics and landfills. 

 





DOE | Public Domain

Once these options have been exhausted, the need for copper mining may persist. However, Oak Flat is a significant religious site as well as an important habitat for endangered species. If the unfortunate reality of necessary mining persists, better care needs to be taken as to where these projects take place. 

Topics
Authors

Ellen runs campaigns to protect America’s beautiful places, from local beachfronts to remote mountain peaks. She sits on the Steering Committee of the Arctic Defense Campaign and co-coordinates the Climate Forests Campaign. Ellen previously worked as the organizing director for Environment America’s Climate Defenders campaign and managed grassroots campaign offices across the country. Ellen lives in Denver, where she likes to hike in Colorado’s mountains.

Tags: ArizonasflatMiningOakSave
Previous Post

Cat’s incredible reunion with its owner after the LA wildfires

Next Post

Sols 4475-4476: Even the Best-Laid Plans

Related Posts

Maine appliance efficiency bill heads to governor’s desk

Maine appliance efficiency bill heads to governor’s desk

May 30, 2025
8
Going to the beach for spring break? Here’s what you should know

Representatives urge more funding to make our beaches safe for swimming

May 30, 2025
4
Next Post
A grayscale photo of a Martian landscape shows very rough and rocky terrain extending from the foreground to a horizon line in the distance that is angled down from the upper right corner of the image to the center left of the image. Rising from the horizon is a large mesa covering most of the upper part of the frame, with a curved slope rising on the left, then the rest of the mesa extending off the right edge of the frame, its top roughly parallel to the top of the image frame.

Sols 4475-4476: Even the Best-Laid Plans

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

April 2, 2025
Pioneering 3D printing project shares successes

Product reduces TPH levels to non-hazardous status

November 27, 2024

Hospital Mergers Fail to Deliver Better Care or Lower Costs, Study Finds todayheadline

December 31, 2024

Police ID man who died after Corso Italia fight

December 23, 2024
Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power

Harris tells supporters ‘never give up’ and urges peaceful transfer of power

0
Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother

Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother

0

Trump ‘looks forward’ to White House meeting with Biden

0
Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

0
Hayes: Starlet Yohannes has big USWNT future

Hayes: Starlet Yohannes has big USWNT future

May 31, 2025
United’s CEO proclaims the budget airline model is dead and argues they ‘screw the customer’

United’s CEO proclaims the budget airline model is dead and argues they ‘screw the customer’ todayheadline

May 31, 2025
Illustration of three very differently sized sloths

Sloths The Size of Elephants Roamed America, Before Abruptly Vanishing : ScienceAlert todayheadline

May 31, 2025
The Trials of Starship - Starship Flight Test 9 - YouTube

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 163 — The Trials of Starship

May 31, 2025

Recent News

Hayes: Starlet Yohannes has big USWNT future

Hayes: Starlet Yohannes has big USWNT future

May 31, 2025
2
United’s CEO proclaims the budget airline model is dead and argues they ‘screw the customer’

United’s CEO proclaims the budget airline model is dead and argues they ‘screw the customer’ todayheadline

May 31, 2025
4
Illustration of three very differently sized sloths

Sloths The Size of Elephants Roamed America, Before Abruptly Vanishing : ScienceAlert todayheadline

May 31, 2025
4
The Trials of Starship - Starship Flight Test 9 - YouTube

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 163 — The Trials of Starship

May 31, 2025
3

TodayHeadline is a dynamic news website dedicated to delivering up-to-date and comprehensive news coverage from around the globe.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Basketball
  • Business & Finance
  • Climate Change
  • Crime & Justice
  • Cybersecurity
  • Economic Policies
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Policies
  • Europe
  • Football
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Health
  • Medical Research
  • Mental Health
  • Middle East
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Science & Environment
  • Software & Apps
  • Space Exploration
  • Sports
  • Stock Market
  • Technology & Startups
  • Tennis
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Us & Canada
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • World News

Recent News

Hayes: Starlet Yohannes has big USWNT future

Hayes: Starlet Yohannes has big USWNT future

May 31, 2025
United’s CEO proclaims the budget airline model is dead and argues they ‘screw the customer’

United’s CEO proclaims the budget airline model is dead and argues they ‘screw the customer’ todayheadline

May 31, 2025
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology & Startups
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2024 Todayheadline.co

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Business & Finance
  • Corporate News
  • Economic Policies
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Market Trends
  • Crime & Justice
  • Court Cases
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Cybercrime
  • Legal Reforms
  • Policing
  • Education
  • Higher Education
  • Online Learning
  • Entertainment
  • Awards & Festivals
  • Celebrity News
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Health
  • Fitness & Nutrition
  • Medical Breakthroughs
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemic Updates
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Drink
  • Home & Living
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Government Policies
  • International Relations
  • Legislative News
  • Political Parties
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Industry Analysis
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Policies
  • Medical Research
  • Science & Environment
  • Space Exploration
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • Sports
  • Tennis
  • Technology & Startups
  • Software & Apps
  • Startup Success Stories
  • Startups & Innovations
  • Tech Regulations
  • Venture Capital
  • Uncategorized
  • World News
  • Us & Canada
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Travel
  • Research & Innovation
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • School Reforms
  • Stock Market
  • TV & Streaming
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About us
  • Contact

© 2024 Todayheadline.co