Urge members of Congress to co-sponsor Save Oak Flat Act

Tomorrow, April 8, 2022,  is an international call to action to protest Rio Tinto's inapproporiate mines and proposals around the world.  Please take action today via email and social media and spread the word widely!

On April 8, 2022, Rio Tinto will be holding its Annual General Meeting. Across the globe, this giant mining company continues to destroy Indigenous heritage, put communities under water stress, harm the environment, and loot resources.

This year, campaigners from Australia, Madagascar, Mongolia, Finland, Serbia, the UK, and the USA have come together to say enough is enough! It’s time for Rio Tinto to stop causing grief and misery to communities and the environment around the world. Add your voice to our call of international solidarity and send a message to Rio Tinto!

Please go to our action page for actions you can take.  

You can act locally by asking your member of Congress to cosponsor the Save Oak Flat Act.

And, you can act internationally by emailing or Tweeting Rio Tinto directly.

• To send an email to Rio Tinto’s Board of Directors and chief executives, go our Action Page.

• To send Rio Tinto a tweet, go to the Rio Tinto: Stop Plundering the Planet page.

Our action pages give you plenty of information about our fight to protect Oak Flat, but for more information about other struggles around the world against Rio Tinto, go here

Please ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Save Oak Flat Act to right a wrong, protect the religious freedom of Indigenous people, save an important recreational area, and protect the plants and animals that inhabit this biologically rich part of the Tonto National Forest.

The Save Oak Flat Act corrects Section 3003 of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, which currently allows the US government to give Oak Flat, a sacred recreational and ecological haven, which is US public land, to foreign mining companies.

The House version of the Save Oak Flat Act, HR 1884, was introduced by Congressman Grijalva (D-AZ) on March 12, 2021, and  the Seante version, S 915, was introduced by Senator Sanders (I-VT) on March 23, 2021.

Section 3003 of the land exchange was added to the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act at the last minute in the dead of night because the supporters of the exchange were repeatedly unable to pass the bill as a stand-alone measure.  

The Tonto National Forest released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in 2019. It details some of the harm the mine will cause. The proposed Resolution Copper Mine would:

• * Create a crater roughly two miles wide and 1,000 feet deep right there at Oak Flat due to subsidence of the land.
• * Dump nearly 1.4 billion tons of toxic mining waste into an unlined tailings dump -- the preferred alternative tailings site will ultimately cover six square miles with a dam 490 feet high.
• * Use more water annually than the City of Tempe, AZ, a minimum of 50,000 acre-feet per year.
• * Permanently destroy about 16,000 acres of public land, state trust land, and private land.

Please ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Save Oak Flat Act:

https://org.salsalabs.com/o/676/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=23970

REP. ANN LEILA KIRKPATRICK

District: US Representative

PHONE:(202) 225-25422

SEN. MARK EDWARD KELLY

District: US Senator

Phone:(202) 224-2235

Fax:(202) 228-2862

SEN. KYRSTEN LEA SINEMA

District: US Senator

Phone:(202) 224-4521

Fax:(202) 228-0515

For More Information: 

Arizona Mining Reform Coalition Resoluton Copper DEIS comments

Arizona Mining Reform Coalition website page