- The outgoing Trump administration has approved a land swap for Rio Tinto's (RIO -5.1%) Resolution Copper project in Arizona, which could become the largest copper mine in North America.
- The mine could supply 25% of U.S. copper demand if developed and generate more than $280M/year in taxes, the U.S. Forest Service says, but the project is opposed by environmentalists who fear the mine could pollute local water supplies and Native Americans who consider the site as sacred.
- A U.S. judge yesterday denied a request by a Native American group to block today's publication of the environmental study that triggers the land swap.
- Rio still needs federal construction permits, a process that could take years, and the company says it will seek tribal consent for the mine, seeking to avoid its disastrous handling of the destruction of Western Australia's Juukan Gorge natural rock shelters.
- Rio and other mining stocks along with industrial metal prices are sharply lower today, as Pres.-elect Biden's proposed $1.9T stimulus may prove too expensive for congressional approval.