Environmentalists lose appeal to halt Arizona uranium mine

By FELICIA FONSECA
Associated Press

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled against environmental groups and an Arizona tribe 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. But it doesn’t keep Energy Fuels Resources from developing its claims on U.S. Forest Service land because they were grandfathered in. Three environmental groups and the Havasupai Tribe sued the Forest Service. They argued 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.