US moves to protect Minnesota wilderness from planned mine
The Biden administration moved Thursday to protect northeast Minnesota’s pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from future mining, dealing a potentially deadly blow to a copper-nickel project.
Home Secretary Deb Haaland signed an order to close over 350 square miles (900 square kilometers) of Superior National Forest in the Rainy River Watershed around the town of Ely to mineral and geothermal leases for 20 years, the longest period the ministry can confiscate the Land without Congressional approval.
The order is “subject to existing valid rights,” but the Biden administration alleges that Twin Metals Minnesota lost its rights last year when the department reversed a decision by the Trump administration to lease federal mineral rights crucial to the project reintroduce. Twin Metals, owned by Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, filed a lawsuit in August to try to recover those rights.
“Protecting a place like Boundary Waters is key to supporting the health of the watershed and surrounding wildlife, maintaining our tribal trust and treaty obligations, and stimulating the local recreation economy,” Haaland said in a statement. “With a view to protecting this special place for future generations, I have made this decision based on the best available science and extensive public input.”
The proposed underground mine would be constructed southeast of Ely near Birch Lake, which empties into the Boundary Waters. The project was buffeted by changing political winds. In recent weeks, the Obama administration decided not to renew the two leases, which date back more than 50 years. The Trump administration reversed that decision and reinstated the leases. But the Biden administration canceled the leases last January after the US Forest Service restarted the review and public participation process for the 20-year mining moratorium in October 2021.
While the Biden administration pledged last year to expand domestic sources of critical minerals and metals for the clean energy economy, it made it clear Thursday that it views Boundary Waters as a unique area deserving of special protection.
Twin Metals did not immediately respond to messages requesting comment. The company and its supporters say the project is critical to securing domestic sources of copper, nickel and other minerals needed for wind and solar power and electric vehicles. And they say the mine would create more than 750 high-paying mining jobs plus 1,500 part-time jobs in the region.
Twin Metals says it can safely mine without creating acid mine drainage, which the Biden administration and environmentalists say makes the $1.7 billion project an unacceptable risk to the wilderness. Twin Metals says its design would limit the exposure of the sulphide-bearing ore to the effects of air and water.
The 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) Boundary Waters Canoe Area is the most-visited federally designated wilderness area in the United States. It attracts more than 150,000 visitors from around the world who paddle its more than 1,900 kilometers of canoe routes across 1,100 lakes. According to the Department of the Interior, it contributes over $17 million annually to northeast Minnesota’s recreation and tourism economy. Three Ojibwe tribes exercise treaty rights in the area affected by the moratorium.
“I applaud Secretary Haaland’s decision to protect the long-term health of the Rainy River watershed, including the irreplaceable Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who oversees the Forest Service, said in the administration’s statement. “This landscape is an international resource, known for its diverse recreational opportunities and offering unparalleled wilderness experiences for millions of visitors.”
The order does not affect two other proposed copper-nickel projects in northeast Minnesota – the PolyMet mine near Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes and the Talon Metals mine near Tamarack – located in separate watersheds.
Minnesota Congressman, District 8, Pete Stauber released the following statement Thursday afternoon:
“Today is an attack on our way of life. Joe Biden banned mining on 225,000 acres of Minnesota’s Iron Range, barring development of taconite, copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum group elements and more. Unfortunately, this damage to our country and our future has become the norm as this President’s goal is to put America last. Less than a month ago, Joe Biden signed an agreement to finance mining projects in Chinese mines in Congo, where more than 40,000 children are forced to work as slaves in inhumane conditions without environmental protection. Meanwhile, today’s mining ban nullifies a project labor contract with local construction unions. America needs to develop its vast natural wealth right here at home, with high-paying, union-protected jobs, rather than continuing to send American taxpayer money to countries like Congo that use child slave labor. The only winner here is China as Joe Biden continues to give our foreign opponents every possible advantage. I can assure you that this administration, from the President to the Forest Service to the Home Office, will stand up for the pain they wanted to inflict on my constituents today.”
Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.)
Betty McCollum, Representative for District 4 of Minnesota, made the following statement:
“Home Secretary Deb Haaland today signed a public land ordinance formally withdrawing more than 225,000 acres from mineral leases – a move that will protect the boundary waters, located in the Rainy River watershed, from the dangers of mining toxic sulfide ore will protect pollution and preserve America’s most-visited wilderness area for the next generation.
“The freshwater in this area is pristine and contamination from heavy metals and sulfuric acid from mine tailings would cause irreparable damage that would quickly spread across the Boundary Waters’ 1.1 million hectares of interconnected lakes and streams. Doing so would harm the region’s unique wildlife, harm the region’s tourism industry and recreation economy, and prevent hundreds of thousands of visitors from Minnesota and across the country from enjoying this wilderness. Once damaged, it cannot be recovered.
“I salute Sec. Haaland for this action which represents a tremendous step in protecting the Boundary Waters. Unfortunately, it can be reversed by another government, which is why I am committed to reintroducing the Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act at the 118th Congress to continue working to permanently protect this national treasure.”
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.)
Sen. Tina Smith issued the following statement Thursday:
“The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a national treasure and valuable resource. In 2016, the federal government began a process to determine if the watershed that empties into the BWCA is amenable to copper sulfide mining. The answer, according to science, is no. When President Trump tried to hijack the assessment process, I protested, and I was grateful when President Biden’s administration took action to restart that process. Today marks the culmination of that effort and a milestone in the protection of this irreplaceable wilderness area.
“Minnesota has a rich mining heritage and we will continue to provide valuable minerals to the world thanks to hard working Minnesotans. We are a mining country, but mining is not appropriate everywhere.
“I want to thank all Minnesotans who have fought passionately to preserve the precious landscape of Northeast Minnesota, especially the young people who have poured so much energy into this effort.”
