*

Trump says 'radical left court' trying to block Resolution

Copper project

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Post came after Trump met at White House with CEOs of Rio,

BHP

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Court calls for briefings to be filed by October 14

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San Carlos Apache tribe says Trump should avoid

'disastrous

decision'

(Adds statement from San Carlos Apache tribe in paragraphs 8,

9, 11, 12)

By Ernest Scheyder

Aug 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on

Tuesday criticized an appeals court's decision to temporarily

block federal officials from completing a land transfer needed

for Rio Tinto and BHP to develop Arizona's

Resolution Copper project.

Trump's post on his Truth Social platform came after he and

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum met at the White House with the

CEOs of Rio and BHP, two of the world's largest mining

companies, which have been trying to develop Resolution for more

than a decade.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

ruled on Monday that the transfer - which had been slated for

Tuesday - should be halted while the court weighs a request from

the San Carlos Apache tribe to block the project for religious,

cultural and environmental reasons.

It was only the second time any court has ruled in favor

of the Apache or their allies in more than five years of myriad

legal maneuvers against Resolution, slated to become one of the

world's largest supplies of a metal used to build nearly every

electronic device.

Trump called the court a "radical left court" and said that

those who oppose the mine "are Anti-American, and representing

other copper competitive Countries."

"It is so sad that Radical Left Activists can do this, and

affect the lives of so many people," Trump said in the post. "We

can't continue to allow this to happen to the U.S.A.!"

Trump did not outline any actions he plans to take to sway

the court, but said that "our Country, quite simply, needs

Copper - AND NOW!" He did not provide evidence for his claims

about the court and opponents of the project.

Terry Rambler, chairman of the San Carlos Apache, said in a

statement that he and the tribe were "working to save the U.S.

from making a disastrous decision that would give up American

resources to foreign interests."

Rambler noted in his statement that BHP is based in

Australia, while Rio is based in Australia and the U.K. and its

largest shareholder is a Chinese aluminum company.

Rio has said it plans to keep all of Resolution's copper

inside the U.S. should the mine be approved. The company

controls one of the two U.S. copper smelters.

Rambler said he believes that Rio is likely to export

Resolution's copper to China.

"I look forward to sitting down with the administration and

providing factual information that will help protect American

assets," Rambler said.

COURT

The appeals court made clear it takes "no position on the

merits" of the Apache's arguments and would expedite its review.

Judges asked for filings to be submitted by October 14, but have

not yet scheduled a hearing date. Ten of the appeals court's 29

members were appointed by Trump.

Rio said it was "confident the court will ultimately affirm"

the land transfer. Rio CEO Jakob Stausholm and his successor

Simon Trott, who will take the company's reins next month, were

at the White House meeting with Trump.

BHP CEO Mike Henry thanked Trump and Burgum on social media

"for their strong leadership to reinvigorate mining and

processing supply chains in and for America."

Trump's post comes less than a month after he imposed a

copper tariff on wiring and pipe, but not the copper concentrate

produced by mines themselves, a levy falling far short of what

the mining industry had expected. That will allow other

countries to import copper into the U.S. without fear of tariff

implications.

HISTORY

The mine's construction would cause a crater that would

swallow a site where the Apache worship. Congress and

then-President Barack Obama approved the mine in 2014 after it

was added at the last minute to a must-pass military funding

bill with the condition that an environmental report be

published.

The underground mine - which Trump approved in his first

term before successor Joe Biden reversed him - would supply more

than a quarter of U.S. appetite for copper and be a key part of

Trump's plan to boost U.S. mining.

Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit group comprised of some

Apache and conservationists, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to

block the transfer, a request that the high court denied in May.

Meanwhile, the tribe itself made the same request of federal

courts. It failed last week at the district court level and

appealed over the weekend.