The US Forest Service has halted progress on the creation of a Rio Tinto copper mine in Arizona after it informed a federal court that it does not have a timeline for the completion of the deal’s review. Oak Flat, sited on federally owned land in Arizona, is the subject of an attempted land swap between the federal government and Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto. The mining giant hopes that the proposed Resolution Copper Mine built on the site will supply as much as 25% of the US’s required copper. Local indigenous communities have objected to the process. Oak Flat is a listed Traditional Cultural Property that holds ... (full story)