Proposed lithium mine near Wikieup would endanger sacred sites, Native activists say

Ivan Bender was walking through the Hualapai tribe-owned Cholla Canyon Ranch one day in 2018 when he discovered exploratory drilling holes around the edge of the property, where he works as a caretaker.

"I went on top (of a mountain), and then I was coming down and I saw a flag," he says. It was the U.S. flag tied to a noisy drilling machine.

Bender drove down to meet the workers. 

"I didn't know who they were,” he says, “but I did ask questions."

He learned that the Australian company Hawkstone Mining Limited, now operating as Arizona Lithium Limited, had started drilling what it said were 37 exploration holes for phases one and two of its Big Sandy Lithium Project. The company says the Big Sandy lithium is 99.8% pure, ideally suited for the production of lithium batteries for electronic devices and electric vehicles.

Laura Berglan, a senior attorney for the Tribal Partnerships program of the environmental law organization Earthjustice, later published a count of 49 holes.

Bender says he saw the mining workers using water and extracting groundwater during drilling. Not long after, he noticed the springs' waters went down. In the last measurement, he says, "We lost two feet of water in less than a six-month period. How is that possible?"

Water helps define the landscape

Beyond the entrance of Cholla Canyon Ranch is a sacred site known in the Hualapai language as Ha'Kamwe', later named in English as Cofer Hot Springs. The place is part of the ancestral homelands of the Hualapai, Yavapai, Fort Mojave, Chemehuevi, Southern Paiute, Hopi and Colorado River indigenous tribes.

People value the landscape for its religious, traditional and cultural significance. Elders say the holy spring has been used since time immemorial for traditional medicine, praying, and conducting ceremonies. Even non-indigenous people say they believe in its healing powers.

Now, a group of concerned people is organizing to express their interest in protecting the precious oasis and ensuring the preservation of the water connected to this place by the Big Sandy River, which feeds into other aquifers.

The Big Sandy River merges with the Santa Maria River at Alamo Lake to form the Bill Williams River, which then flows into the Colorado River. Its headwaters are at the confluence of Knight Creek and Trout Creek. It also drains Burro Creek.

"The Colorado River runs all the way into Yuma and then into Mexico. And then they have a manmade canal that runs into San Diego," says Bender. He notes that the water systems are interconnected, supplying Phoenix, Tucson and other cities.

BLM asks mine operator to stop using one water source

Ha'Kamwe' is now surrounded by mining claims within public lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management.

In 2021, the former Hualapai Tribe Chairman, Damon R. Clarke, wrote to the BLM regarding the inadequacies of its Environmental Assessment. He requested further tribal consultation.

In response to an interview request, the BLM on March 18 emailed The Arizona Republic: "In December 2022, the BLM formally invited the Hualapai Tribe to be a Cooperating Agency on the project. The BLM received the Tribe's Cooperating Agency inputs on the project this week. We are currently reviewing those inputs."

For the third exploration phase of the project, Arizona Lithium, applying under the name Big Sandy Inc., has sought a BLM permit to triple the number of holes drilled in the area. The company says the lithium would help fill a growing demand for batteries that power electric cars, ultimately helping the U.S. reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To facilitate the processes, Arizona Lithium recently announced the completion of a mining services agreement with the tribally owned Navajo Transitional Energy Company.

NTEC will be responsible for managing the permitting requirements, additional exploration drilling, mine design, environmental assessments and development to the start of mining for the Big Sandy Lithium Project.

In compensation, NTEC will receive AZL shares for $0.075 per share, subject to full permitting of the Big Sandy Lithium Project.

The BLM has made no decision to authorize the exploration, the agency told The Republic, nor has a mining plan of operations been submitted to the BLM.

"Should the mining company propose to move forward with actual lithium mining at this site in the future, they would be required to submit a mining plan of operations," BLM officials said in the statement. "That plan would then undergo a rigorous National Environmental Policy Act review, including public participation and Tribal consultation."

The mining company plans to create an open-pit mine. Although the project hasn't received final approval, its communication indicates the company's optimism about moving forward with that objective.

According to the BLM, the office asked Big Sandy Inc. to revise its exploration plan to pay for tribal monitors to be present during ground-disturbing activities, and to stop using a groundwater well and a staging area that would be within a few hundred feet of the sacred hot spring Ha'Kamwe'.

BLM officials say the groundwater well is not hydrologically connected to the spring, but eliminating the well will reduce the amount of truck traffic and noise in that area.

The company proposes obtaining the water needed to support the drilling operations from Wikieup.

Mining and tribes:Uranium ore from a mine near the Grand Canyon will hit the road soon, despite opposition

How Indigenous people are united by shared stories

Chanting "Protect Ha'Kamwe'," children, adults and elders gathered in front of the Arizona state Capitol last week to demonstrate their opposition to the Big Sandy Lithium Project and their concern for preserving sacred waters.

Around 1 p.m., the crowd welcomed a group of prayer runners who traveled from Peach Springs, walking and running over 200 miles over seven days.

Bender is the head of the movement. He says he follows his ancestors' guidance to care for and protect Ha'Kamwe'.

Before beginning each manifestation, the group performs a ceremony to honor water, the elements and ancestors.

The smell of the burnt aromatic resin known as copal fills the air on the lawn outside the Capitol gates. The dancers sound their rattles and maracas accompanied by the rhythm of musicians playing drums and blowing conch shells.

Then they march to a stage set up at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, echoing the chant of "Protect Ha'Kamwe'."

Speakers from different tribes participated in the rally, including Mona Polacca, a Havasupai, Hopi and Tewa indigenous water ethics organizer from the Indigenous Environmental Network, who also joined the prayer run, walking with the group at times.

San Xavier District Chairman Austin Nunez from the Tohono O'odham Nation asks, "How much earth needs to be moved to produce enough lithium for an electric car? You have to move tons of earth to get just a little bit of lithium. So we have to continue to look for other ways to have a good life and protect all that surrounds us."

Adrian Herder, who is Diné and from the Black Mesa region of the Navajo Nation, is media organizer with Tó Nizhóní Ání, a Diné-led nonprofit organization working to protect the region's water. Herder talks about the water crisis in Arizona and the environmental consequences that mining left in his community.

Katie Martinez, with the O'odham Aunties from the Gila River Indian Community, says, "My grandpa taught me that living in the desert, there's always someone who is thirsty." She is a third-generation woman who has not had running water. "We need to save it and honor it."

Speakers also included Guy Trujillo, who came from California with his family to support Bender with some music, and Pete Jackson, a veteran of the Gila River Indian Community.

They all tell stories about how extractive industries like mining have impacted their communities.

"This is not only an Indigenous problem," says Jackson, "is everyone's."

Bender is the last to speak. He says that communities from all these cities can be affected by the impact lithium mining has on water. 

"We need to let our leaders know that it's not just going to affect your city; it's going to affect them," he says. "That's why we're here today."

Trilce Estrada Olvera writes about environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send comments and story tips to trilce.estradaolvera@arizonarepublic.com.

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