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October 27, 2011

House OKs Land Swap to Help Rio Tinto Build Massive Arizona Copper Mine 
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In Washington, lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House have
approved a federal land swap Wednesday that would clear the way for
mining giant Rio Tinto to create North America's largest copper mine in
Arizona. The swap would trade 2,400 acres of federal forest land in
southeastern Arizona for about 5,300 acres of environmentally sensitive
land controlled by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto. The federal forest is
thought to contain billions of dollars worth of high-grade copper. Under
current law, the mining company will not have to pay any royalties to
the U.S. government for the mineral rights. A U.S. federal appeals court
has revived a lawsuit accusing Rio Tinto of committing genocide and war
crimes in Papua New Guinea, where it once ran one of the world's largest
copper and gold mines.



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