The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear an Apache religious challenge to a copper mine that could turn the tribe's sacred site into a 1,000-foot-deep industrial crater.

The group Apache Stronghold is vowing to carry on the fight against a massive copper mining project on land the Apaches hold sacred, after a Supreme Court decision that is expected to let the mine proceed.

The Supreme Court agreed to consider whether Native Americans can challenge a massive copper mining project in Arizona that would destroy a sacred site used for tribal ceremonies.