A federal appeals court has ruled against the Havasupai Tribe and environmental groups in their bid to keep a uranium mine south of the Grand Canyon from operating.
The Pinyon Plain Mine lies in a vast area that has been off-limits to new mining claims since 2012.
However, Energy Fuels Resources continues to develop its claims on U.S. Forest Service land because they were grandfathered in.
Three environmental groups and the Havasupai Tribe sued the Forest Service, arguing the agency should not have ignored costs that cannot be recovered when determining whether the mine could be profitable.
A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed on Tuesday.