The House approved a federal land swap Wednesday that would clear the way for creation of North America’s largest copper mine in Arizona, despite opposition from the Obama administration and complaints that the proposed mine operator had partnered with Iran and faces allegations of human rights violations.

The swap would trade 2,400 acres of federal forest land in southeastern Arizona for about 5,300 acres of environmentally sensitive land throughout the state controlled by a subsidiary of global mining giant Rio Tinto. The bill passed the Republican-controlled House on a 235-186 vote.

GOP lawmakers and business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Mining Association, say the proposed mine, 70 miles east of Phoenix, would pump billions of dollars into the Arizona economy and help create nearly 4,000 mining-related jobs.

The Obama administration and many Democratic lawmakers opposed the land swap, saying an environmental review should be completed before the exchange is made.

Democrats also complained that the mining company will not have to pay royalties to the U.S. government for lucrative mineral rights that could be worth billions of dollars. And they said the proposed mine site contains sacred Native American artifacts and important cultural areas that would be displaced by the mine.

But their arguments were overridden by Republicans who said the mine would be a major job creator and would help reduce imports of copper used in a wide range of items, including cars, lamps and computers.

“There is no excuse for the United States to depend on foreign nations for our minerals supplies when we have ample reserves that could be developed here at home,” said Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.

Hastings and other Republicans dismissed Democratic complaints that the bill short-circuited necessary environmental reviews. The mine project cannot proceed without a battery of federal environmental reviews and consultation with Native American tribes, Hastings said.

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., the bill’s sponsor, said the land swap “does not pre-empt anything,” such as the Antiquities Act, the National Environmental Policy Act or other laws.

But Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said the environmental review should be conducted now, when the U.S. government has the most leverage over the project. Once land that now is part of the Tonto National Forest is turned over to private control, the government’s ability to require changes and enforce the law “is really limited at best,” he said.

Under the plan, first proposed in 2005, a Rio Tinto subsidiary would gain access to more than 2,400 acres of federal forest land thought to contain vast resources of high-grade copper, potentially worth billions of dollars.

In exchange, about 5,300 acres of environmentally sensitive and recreational land throughout Arizona would be transferred to federal control, including 3,000 acres on the lower San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona and 940 acres to be added to the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch southeast of Tucson. The land is controlled by Resolution Copper Co., a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, a London and Australia-based company that operates mines worldwide.