Future of massive Arizona copper mine could hinge on Native Americans’ religious rights

Latter-day Saints, Seventh-day Adventists among those supporting Apaches in court fight

Site of the proposed copper mine at Oak Flat in Arizona. Photo courtesy of Russ McSpadden of the Center for Biological Diversity.

A partnership of multinational mining companies has been waging a political and environmental battle for decades to develop one of the nation’s largest copper mines at Oak Flat near Superior, Ariz. But it is possible that the …