U.S. backs land swap for copper mine Apache tribe opposes project set on Native property By Joe Deaux, Bloomberg News Published: January 18, 2021, 6:00am Share: The Resolution Copper Mining area Shaft #9, right, and Shaft #10, that await the expansion go-ahead in Superior, Ariz. The U.S. Forest Service released an environmental review Friday that paves the way for the creation of one of the largest copper mines in the United States, against the wishes of a group of Apaches who have been trying for years to stop the project. (Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press) The U.S. government published a report Friday that triggers a land swap involving U.S. Native American land for an area that could become the largest copper mine in North America, pushing the project into the next phase in the permitting process.