A federal judge has declined to reconsider a ruling barring the construction of an Arizona open-pit copper mine.
The Arizona Daily Star reports that U.S. District Judge James Soto declined a request from Hudbay Minerals to change his July ruling overturning approval from the U.S. Forest Service in 2017 to build the $1.9 billion mine project.
An environmental attorney representing multiple Indian tribes agreed.
Mining company officials said they would continue work to appeal the ruling that the Forest Service didn't determine valid mining claims.
Soto found public land could not be used for mining without claims.
The deadline to file an appeal is Dec. 27 and a ruling could take up to 24 months.
