The political fight around the US mining industry hits local industries

Early last year, Darrin Lewis paid $ 800,000 for a hardware store in a tiny Arizona town where mining giant Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO) Plc hopes to build one of the largest underground copper mines in the world. Rio buys material for the mine construction site in Resolution from Lewis's Superior Hardware & Lumber, which accounts for a third of the store's sales and helps keep it afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. But U.S. President Joe Biden put the mining project on hold last month in response to concerns from Native Americans who say it would destroy sacred land and environmentalists who worry it will kill the water in one of the cities Drought-ridden state would engulf. That fueled the fears of Lewis and others here in Superior, Ariz., Who want to reap the economic benefits of a mine that would produce more than 40 billion pounds of copper. "I put everything I have into this place," says Lewis, surrounded by hammer drills, wrenches, and other merchandise in his shop. "It would be absolutely devastating for us if this mine doesn't open." By halting the project, Biden reversed a decision by his predecessor Donald Trump that would have given Rio land for the mine. Biden ordered a further analysis of the project by the government. In the ongoing battle, conservationists and indigenous peoples face off against local officials and residents who support the economic benefits of the project. The complex debate is a harbinger of future struggles as the US wants to build more electric vehicles that use twice as much copper as those with internal combustion engines. The Resolution mine could provide approximately 25% of US copper demand. The Arizona controversy revolves around Oak Flat Campground, which some Apaches (Nasdaq: APA) consider the home of deities known as Ga'an. Religious ceremonies are held at this location near the San Carlos Apache Reservation to celebrate the coming of age for teenage girls. Many Apaches have ancestors buried under the volcanic rock. In 2014, the Obama administration and Congress launched a complex process that saw Rio give 3,000 acres of federal land, including the campsite, in exchange for 4,500 acres that Rio owns nearby. Biden has stopped this broadcast. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. "If Rio gets this place, the mine will kill the angels and deities who live here," said Wendsler Nosie, a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe who has been running a protest camp at the place for 18 months. A sign there describes the land known as Chi'chil Bildagoteel in the language of the Western Apaches, as the physical embodiment of the spirit of the earth. Nosie has garnered widespread support for his cause, helped by rising global awareness of the rights of indigenous peoples. Rio itself fueled this matter last year when it blew up culturally significant Aboriginal rocks in Australia. If the land swap is approved, Rio has said it would keep the campsite open for the next several decades before the underground mine creates a crater that would swallow the place. The company has also said it would seek approval from the tribes for the project and investigate ways to prevent the crater from forming. "The land swap gives us the ability to collect more data, then refine our plans and find ways to further prevent and minimize damage to the site," said Vicky Peacey, a senior permit manager for the Rio project. Based in Australia and the UK, Rio has also promised to preserve other cultural sites including Apache Leap, a rock cliff that overlooks Superior and where Apaches jumped to their deaths to avoid being captured by US forces in the late 19th century.