Rio Tinto's copper mine receives support from the United States Supreme Court, but the demands of the Apache tribe are rejected.

The Supreme Court of the United States has rejected a major obstacle for Rio Tinto's construction of the largest copper mine in North America an appeal from a Native American group who claimed that the project in Arizona would disturb sacred land. The appeal aimed to prevent the transfer of 2422 acres of federal land vital to the Resolution Copper Mine. This land includes Oak Flat, where the Western Apache people have held religious ceremonies for centuries, including a four-day celebration of young women coming of age.