Save Oak Flat from Foreign Mining Act

This bill primarily seeks to repeal Section 3003 of Public Law 113-291 , which currently mandates the transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper for mining. By repealing this section, the legislation aims to halt the transfer of this land and subsequently withdraws Oak Flat from all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposition under public land and mining laws, thereby protecting it from future mineral extraction. The bill's findings highlight that Resolution Copper, a joint venture of foreign mining entities Rio Tinto and BHP with significant ties to the People's Republic of China, intends to extract copper from Oak Flat primarily for export to China . This action, the legislation asserts, would strengthen China's control over global copper supply chains and potentially weaken United States security, especially since Section 3003 lacks requirements for the copper to benefit United States consumers. Furthermore, the bill emphasizes the significant environmental and cultural concerns associated with the proposed mining operation. Oak Flat is identified as the ancestral homeland of American Indians and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The planned mining would result in a massive crater, consume billions of gallons of groundwater, and create a large toxic waste dump, leading to severe land subsidence and jeopardizing precious water resources in an already arid region.