Washington | The US Supreme Court cleared a major obstacle to Rio Tinto’s construction of North America’s largest copper mine, rejecting an appeal by a Native American group that said the Arizona project would destroy a sacred area.
The appeal sought to block a 2422-acre (980-hectare) federal land transfer crucial to the Resolution Copper mine. The land includes Oak Flat, a site where Western Apaches say they have conducted religious ceremonies for centuries, including a four-day rite to mark the coming of age of young women.
