Exploratory Drilling Near Spring Sacred to Arizona Tribe Temporarily Halted

An Arizona tribe has been granted a temporary injunction halting a project in which exploratory drilling for lithium was to occur near a spring that has religious significance to the tribe, because the drilling will penetrate an aquifer that supports the flow of water to the spring and disrupt the flow.

On Aug. 2, 2024, the Hualapai Tribe filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in which the tribe claims the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) illegally approved drilling by an Australian mining company around a spring called Ha’Kamwe’ that is sacred to the Hualapai Tribe.