US appeals court temporarily blocks land transfer for Resolution Copper

A US appeals court on Monday temporarily blocked federal officials from completing a land transfer needed for Rio Tinto and BHP to develop Arizona’s Resolution Copper project.

The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary administrative injunction while it considers the merits of a request from the San Carlos Apache tribe to block the transfer. The transfer had been slated to occur on Tuesday.

(By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Sandra Maler)