TUCSON — An appeals court has upheld a judge’s ruling overturning a federal agency’s approval of Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals' plan for a new open-pit copper mine in southeastern Arizona.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Thursday that the U.S. Forest Service’s approval of a permit for the Rosemont Mine in a valley on the eastern flank of the Santa Rita Mountains violates part of a federal mining law.
The court cited the planned use of national forest land for long-term storage of waste rock and the lack of valuable minerals on the property.
Conservationists hailed the ruling.
Hudbay says it's reviewing the ruling and will continue to pursue alternatives.
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