TUCSON, Ariz.— A new public opinion poll released today by the Center for Biological Diversity shows that 67% of likely Arizona voters oppose the proposed Resolution Copper mine, which would destroy Oak Flat, a Native American sacred site in the Tonto National Forest east of Phoenix.

Nearly one in two voters (46%) say they would view elected officials who support the mine less favorably.

“This poll lays bare how deeply unpopular this destructive mine is among Arizonans, and it’s a wake-up call for politicians who unwisely throw their support behind it,” said Russ McSpadden, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center. “Voters across the state see through the corporate spin and don’t want our water, wildlife and religious freedom sacrificed so foreign mining corporations can cash in and leave lasting damage behind. Arizonans know what’s at stake at Oak Flat. It’s time our leaders listen and kill this project once and for all.”

Resistance to the mine spans the political spectrum, with 87% of Democrats, 69% of independents and 51% of Republicans opposed. Majorities of both women and men oppose the project, with 78% of women and 56% of men opposed.

Rejection of the mine remains strong even after voters hear arguments from its supporters: 63% of voters still oppose the project, compared to just 27% who back it. Overall resistance rises to 71% after voters learn more about the project’s environmental and cultural harms.

The poll shows that protecting Oak Flat and respecting Tribal religious rights are key concerns for Arizona voters. Seventy-two percent of respondents oppose the mine because Oak Flat is a sacred site used in religious ceremonies by the Apache and other Tribes. That concern is a major factor driving resistance, along with threats to wildlife habitat (75%) and scenic landscapes (71%).

Voters also strongly reject the project’s threats to Arizona’s state trust lands, which are constitutionally required to generate revenue for public schools and other beneficiaries. Seventy percent of voters oppose the mine because state trust land would be used as a toxic mining waste site, lowering the value of surrounding trust lands and reducing funding for public education.

Those concerns echo warnings the Arizona State Land Department raised in its comment letter during the environmental review process. The department said the preferred tailings facility on state trust land would deplete massive amounts of groundwater and cause financial losses to the trust, harming support for Arizona’s public schools.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has the authority, through the State Land Department, to block the use of Arizona state trust lands for the Resolution Copper project.

FM3 Research conducted the survey of 601 likely November 2026 Arizona voters between Jan. 23 and Jan. 30, 2026. The margin of sampling error is ±4.0 percentage points.

Background

Oak Flat has been stewarded by Native Americans for generations and has been federally protected since 1955, when President Eisenhower deemed this culturally significant area off limits to mineral development to preserve it in perpetuity. In 2014 Resolution Copper, owned by multinational mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP, secured a rider to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act that overturned Oak Flat’s protected status and forced a land trade with the mining companies.

The Save Oak Flat From Foreign Mining Act, introduced by Rep. Adelita Grijalva, would overturn that pending land swap and permanently protect Oak Flat. Arizona officials could refuse to hand over state trust land to Resolution Copper for their toxic tailings facilities.

The Resolution Copper mine would leave a crater 1.8 miles wide and 1,000 feet deep, destroying the sacred site. The 1.4 billion tons of toxic tailings the mine would produce would be dumped on thousands of acres of nearby wildlands, turning a vibrant landscape into an industrial waste facility and threatening to contaminate both ground and surface water.

More than 16,000 acres of wildlands would be destroyed, including habitat for hundreds of migratory birds and a diverse array of other species, some of them endangered.

Hundreds of billions of gallons of water, enough to serve a city of 140,000 for 40 years, would be permanently removed from regional aquifers that towns and farmers rely on.

Destroying Oak Flat would permanently prevent Western Apache Tribes and other Native peoples from accessing a place central to their religion, culture and identity, violating the federal government’s trust responsibilities to Tribes.