Members of the San Carlos Apache tribe returned to Arizona this week after traveling to Washington, D.C. to protest the proposed Resolution Copper Mine near Superior.
The project got federal approval last December, when it was added to the National Defense Authorization Act, although a bill sponsored by Democratic Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva aims to repeal that section of the measure. San Carlos Tribal Council member Wendsler Nosie was among those who made the trip.
As for the project itself, Resolution Copper expects the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, review to start by the end of the year, although it could be about a decade before ore starts coming out of the ground.
Andrew Taplin is Project Director for the Resolution Copper Project.
