Metminco's copper project at Mollacas received a boost after the Chilean Constitutional Tribunal dismissed the defences of the land holder.The ruling means that a lawsuit filed by Metminco's subsidiary Minera Hampton Chile (MHC) Limitada against an earlier appeals court ruling is admissible.That may represent a change of fortune for the Australian company, after the Chilean Supreme Court had in July blocked the company's appeal to that earlier ruling from the Court of Appeal of the IV Region which found that a granted First Easement Extension was invalid.If that earlier ruling been upheld then management would have needed to purchase the land before being able to mine for the ore.The appeals court found that the first extension had been approved over property not owned by the defendant - although they are related parties - and that there had been a change in the area and purpose of the land from that set out in the original easement. In parallel, Metminco is also appealing the Supreme Court review panel's determination not to allow MHC to appeal to the Supreme Court. The firm explained that the Supreme Court had incorrectly applied the law by addressing only one of the five arguments put forward by the mining outfit in its appeal. Following the news on Thursday Cannacord Genuity reiterated its "speculative buy" rating for Metminco shares, which ended the trading session higher by 9.52% at 1.15p.DC