A three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit…upheld a district court's grant of summary judgment against the plaintiff Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone of Nevada and its co-plaintiffs, the Western Shoshone Defense Project, and Great Basin Mine Watch…The dispute centers on the intention of Barrick Gold…to expand its Cortez Gold Mine located in Nevada's Lander and Eureka counties. In November 2008, the plaintiffs challenged the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's approval of the Cortez Hills mine expansion…The expansion threatens Mount Tenabo, an important sacred mountain for the Western Shoshone people, the appeals court recognized in its ruling.