Liberty Star Uranium and Metals Corp (LBSR)

[newuser]

HUGE setback for Rio and BHP in AZ

Rio and partner BHP Group have spent more than $1-billion on the Resolution project already, though they have yet to obtain permits or produce any copper.

The US Forest Service on Monday blocked a land swap sought by Rio Tinto in Arizona for its proposed Resolution Copper mine, dealing a serious blow to the project and a major win to Native American tribes.

The agency reversed a decision made in the waning days of former President Donald Trump's administration. The move comes less than a week after Tom Vilsack was sworn in as secretary of the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service.

In 2014, then-President Barack Obama signed a Pentagon funding bill that approved Rio Tinto's proposal to exchange land for another parcel near the copper deposit, with the caveat that the swap could not occur until an environmental report on the mine was published. The Trump administration published that report on January 15, clearing the way for the exchange within 60 days.

The Forest Service on Monday rescinded that publication and blocked the land swap.