*

Judge temporarily blocks land transfer, pending Supreme

Court

decision

*

Apache Stronghold opposes mine on religious grounds

*

Rio Tinto sees project as crucial for energy transition

(Adds details from court's ruling throughout, statements from

parties)

By Ernest Scheyder

May 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Friday

temporarily blocked the Trump administration from transferring

land to Rio Tinto and BHP for a copper mine

opposed by Native Americans, citing the Supreme Court's ongoing

deliberations in the complex case.

The long-running fight over the Resolution Copper

project pits the religious rights of Arizona's San Carlos Apache

people against rising demand for copper for the energy

transition and Washington's drive to expand minerals production.

In an 18-page order, U.S. District Judge Steven Logan

said the Apache Stronghold - a nonprofit group of the Apache and

their allies - is likely to

succeed in its appeal to the Supreme Court

and thus the land transfer should be halted for now.

"It is abundantly clear that the balance of equities

tips sharply in (Apache Stronghold's) favor, and that even in

the short term, they have established a likelihood of

irreparable harm should the transfer proceed," Logan said.

The dispute centers on the federally owned Oak Flat

Campground where many Apache worship their deities. The site

sits atop a reserve of more than 40 billion pounds (18.1 million

metric tons) of copper, a crucial component of electric vehicles

and nearly every electronic device.

The Resolution project would, if built, cause a crater 2

miles (3 km) wide and 1,000 feet (304 m) deep that would slowly

engulf that worship site.

Since 2021, courts have rejected a request by the Apache

to block the transfer. The rulings

deferred to a 2014 decision

made by the U.S. Congress and then-President Barack Obama.

President Donald Trump

started the land transfer

in his first term, a move

undone

by successor Joe Biden while the issue wound its way

through courts.

The U.S. Supreme Court is now considering whether to

take the case. The Supreme Court has said at least 13 times it

will continue to deliberate on the appeal request, an unusually

long time frame.

Meanwhile, Trump last month

restarted the land transfer

process, with his administration aiming to complete it as

soon as June 16, a move that prompted the emergency request to

Logan.

Logan said in his Friday ruling "there is good reason to

anticipate" that the Supreme Court will take the case, adding

that Rio and BHP's promises they would maintain public access to

the land for as long as safely possible "are insufficient," as

they are not legally binding.

Logan swept aside a Rio executive's testimony - made at

a

hearing earlier this week

- of the $2.7 billion spent on Resolution thus far and an

additional $11 million a month on maintenance as the company's

"voluntary choice."

In a statement to Reuters, Rio said it was reviewing the

district court's ruling.

"This short-term order ... changes nothing about the

merits of the legal issues currently before the Supreme Court,"

said a Rio spokesperson.

BHP, which owns 45% of the project to Rio's 55%, did not

immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wendsler Nosie, one of Apache Stronghold's leaders, said he

was "grateful the judge stopped this land grab in its tracks so

that the Supreme Court has time to protect Oak Flat from

destruction."