The judge’s decision is likely to escalate the clash between members of Arizona’s San Carlos Apache Tribe, who consider the land home to deities, and Rio and minority partner BHP
Prices have climbed to a record high of $4,390 an ounce from $1,685 on Dec. 12, accelerating a rally that began in 2016, when iridium cost around $500 an ounce.
Facing a collapse in oil production and the effects of US sanctions, President Nicolas Maduro’s government has continued to use the sale of monetary gold as a source of income.
Guinean villagers in communities around the mine filed a complaint in 2019 alleging contraventions by miner Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée SA of its commitments around resettlement and pollution.