Protect Ha'Kamwe' from Lithium Mining
Ha'Kamwe' is a sacred medicinal spring on land currently and traditionally managed by the Hualapai Tribe in Wikieup, Arizona. The spring is threatened by proposed lithium mining, with the next stage of proposed exploration drilling directly surrounding tribal land on three sides. The lithium project is still in an exploratory stage, which means NOW is the time to stop it!
The caretaker of this land, Ivan Bender, is organizing a Protest Walk from September 25-28, 2021. The walk will start in Peach Springs and travel to Wikieup. Funds will go to travel, food, and lodging for participants in the Protest Walk. Any additional funds will go to travel and food for water protectors visiting outside of the walk.
Join the Protest Walk
Article in High Country News
Protect Ha'Kamwe' website
MORE BACKGROUND
Ha'Kamwe' means "warm spring" in the language of the Hualapai people. The spring is fed by water naturally stored underground in volcanic rocks that seal it off from the land surface above (a confined volcanic aquifer). Under pressure, water flows underground along a geologic fault and emerges from the spring.
Ha'Kamwe' is part of Cholla Canyon Ranch in Wikieup, Arizona, where the Mojave and Sonora Deserts meet within the Big Sandy River basin. The ranch is managed by the Hualapai Tribe, while the ancestral homelands of the Hualapai people surrounding the site are currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
(Biomes of Arizona map adapted from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.)
Hawkstone Mining Ltd., an Australian company, is developing the Big Sandy Lithium Project to mine lithium-containing clay. The next stage of exploration drilling would directly surround the tribal land including Ha'Kamwe' on three sides, destroying cultural sites, disturbing the aquifer that feeds the spring, and blocking access to the oasis for desert wildlife. Proposed exploration drilling is less than 700 ft from the spring.
(Map of proposed drill sites from Exploration Phase 3 Environmental Assessment by the BLM. White labels added for emphasis.)
The proposed mine includes:
- Massive open-pit mine
- Sulphuric acid plant to produce acid for extracting lithium from clay
- Slurry line to transport material from the mine to Kingman 50 mi away
- Pumping groundwater for the slurry line and the extraction process
- 24-hour lights + noise
- Construction of numerous access roads and drill pads
Thank you for helping to protect Ha'Kamwe'. This sacred spring is a place for healing, not for extraction. In the words of a Hualapai elder: this is holy ground.