Trump administration approves land swap for Rio Tinto's Arizona copper mine

Reuters

Published Jan 15, 2021 11:56AM ET

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's outgoing administration approved a land swap on Friday for Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) Ltd and partners to build an Arizona copper mine that critics say will destroy sites deemed sacred by Native Americans.

The U.S. Forest Service published a final environmental impact statement for the Resolution Copper project, starting a 60-day countdown for the government to swap land with Rio, a process that Congress and then-President Barack Obama approved in 2014.