Daniel Herrera Carbajal
ICT
A new poll released by the Center for Biological Diversity shows that Arizona voters oppose the proposed copper mine at Oak Flat.
Conducted by FM3 Research, a California-based polling firm, the poll finds that almost half of likely voters are strongly opposed to the copper mine.
Two companies, Rio Tinto and BHP, want to build the Resolution Copper mine on more than 16,000 acres of Tonto National Forest and other public land about 60 miles east of Phoenix in an area known as Oak Flat, which the Apache consider to be a sacred site. The companies estimate the mine can produce as much as 40 billion pounds of copper over 40 years.
San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler said in a statement that the federal government “has a trust responsibility to protect our tribal cultural and sacred sites.”
“These two mining companies have a well-documented history of knowingly destroying indigenous cultural sites and we must not allow those actions to continue in Arizona,” he said.
According to the poll, 67 percent of likely voters totally oppose the copper mine. By comparison, only 26 percent of likely voters are in total support of the project.
Opposition to the mine spans the political spectrum with 87 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of Independents and 51 percent of Republicans opposed.
“This poll lays bare how deeply unpopular this destructive mine is among Arizonans, and it’s a wake-up call for politicians who unwisely throw their support behind it,” said Russ McSpadden, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a press release. “Voters across the state see through the corporate spin and don’t want our water, wildlife and religious freedom sacrificed so foreign mining corporations can cash in and leave lasting damage behind. Arizonans know what’s at stake at Oak Flat. It’s time our leaders listen and kill this project once and for all.”
The poll also shows that protecting Oak Flat and tribal religious practices are key concerns for Arizona voters.
Seventy-two percent of likely voters oppose the mine at Oak Flat because it is a sacred and cultural site for Native people.
“This poll clearly shows the public is opposed to this project that would enrich the two largest foreign-based mining companies in the world while exporting the copper overseas for refining, most likely to China,” Rambler said.
If the proposed mining project moves forward, it would create an almost two-mile-wide crater, 1,000 feet deep.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has the authority to block the use of Arizona state trust lands for the Resolution Copper project through the state land department.
Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva introduced the Save Oak Flat from Mining Act in December 2025, first introduced by her late father Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona in 2015.
“Oak Flat is sacred, irreplaceable, and it should never have been traded away to foreign mining giants in a backroom deal that ignored Tribal Nations, silenced the public, and put Arizona’s water and national security at risk. This legislation is about repealing an indefensible land swap, respecting Tribal sovereignty and religious freedom, and protecting Arizona’s precious natural resources for future generations,” Adelita Grijalva said.