TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a decision by state regulators to allow construction of a nickel and copper mine in the Upper Peninsula backwoods, the latest development in a 12-year legal and political struggle.

A three-judge panel ruled unanimously that the Department of Environmental Quality was within the law to approve mining and groundwater discharge permits for the Eagle Mine in Marquette County. Kennecott Minerals Co. began the project but its present owner is Toronto-based Lundin Mining Corp.