"In a Major Win for Hualapai Tribe, Judge Extends Drilling Freeze", 6 November 2024

A federal judge yesterday decided to extend a temporary pause on harmful drilling for the duration of the Hualapai Tribe’s legal case challenging federal approval of the Sandy Valley Lithium Exploration Project. The Tribe won a temporary restraining order when it sued the Interior Department and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for wrongfully approving a plan that could permanently damage its lands and waters, including the sacred hot spring of Ha’Kamwe’...

The Hualapai Tribe has voiced its concerns to environmental agencies since 2019, when an Australian company Hawkstone Mining began exploration activities in the area. The company’s local subsidiary, Arizona Lithium, now proposes to drill more than 100 holes reaching depths of 360 feet into the aquifer that feeds Ha’Kamwe’...

During a court hearing in September, the Hualapai Tribe represented by Earthjustice and Western Mining Action Project asked the judge to extend the court-ordered temporary pause by granting a preliminary injunction. The court’s ruling means that drilling cannot resume while the lawsuit moves forward...