US judge unlikely to rule until next week as Arizona tribe fights to extend ban on lithium drilling

Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — Members of an Arizona tribe urged a federal judge at a daylong hearing in Phoenix to extend a temporary ban on exploratory drilling for a lithium project near lands they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries. The judge indicated late Tuesday she won’t decide for more than a week whether to grant their request or lift a temporary restraining order she issued last month. An executive for the Australian mining company testified that every day of delay is costing it money. The case is among the latest legal fights pitting Native American tribes and environmentalists against President Joe Biden’s administration so-called green energy projects.