Judge temporarily blocks lithium drilling Arizona tribe says threatens sacred lands [Video]

A federal judge has temporarily blocked exploratory drilling for a lithium project in Arizona that tribal leaders say will harm land they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries.

Lawyers for the national environmental group Earthjustice and Colorado-based Western Mining Action Project are suing federal land managers on behalf of the Hualapai Tribe. They accuse the U.S. Bureau of Land Management of illegally approving drilling planned by an Australian mining company in the Big Sandy River Basin in northwestern Arizona, about halfway between Phoenix and Las Vegas.

The case is among the latest legal fights to pit Native American tribes and environmentalists against the Biden administration as green energy projects encroach on lands that are culturally significant.

U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa granted a temporary restraining order late Monday, according to court documents. Humetewa is suspending the operation until she can hear initial arguments from the tribe, Arizona …