(Photo by Peter O'Dowd/KJZZ)

A settlement is in the works in a lawsuit filed by a concessionaire over a lucrative contract at the Grand Canyon.

A judge has upheld a ban on uranium mining on federal lands that surround Grand Canyon National Park. The ruling prohibits new mining in the area for 20 years, but work can continue at a few existing claims.

U.S. District Judge David Campbell’s ruling reaffirms the mining ban issued in 2012 by then-U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. But the mining industry claimed the Interior Department’s evaluation of environmental studies on the impact of mining was inadequate. 

Ted Zukoski with Earthjustice is one of the attorneys who represented conservation groups and the Havasupai tribe that lives in the canyon. Zukoski called the ruling a victory.

“This protects the watershed, it protects wildlife, it protects the economies of the region because tourism is the lifeblood of the areas around the Grand Canyon,” Zukoski said.

An Interior Department study said without the ban in place, 26 new uranium mines and hundreds of exploration projects could have been developed in the Grand Canyon area.