The Trump administration and Congressman Pete Stauber (R-Minn.-08) are taking action to end a 20-year mining ban near the federally protected Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northeastern Minnesota that was imposed under the former administration, reported Minnesota Public Radio.
The move could pave the way for Twin Metals Minnesota, which is a subsidiary of Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, to reapply for state and federal permits to open a proposed underground copper-nickel mine outside Ely.
“This dangerous and illegal mining ban was thrust upon my constituents and our way of life in n northern Minnesota and put our nation’s mineral security in jeopardy,” Rep. Stauber said in a statement.
“Northern Minnesota mined the iron ore that won this nation two World Wars, and we will mine the copper, nickel, and other critical minerals that will allow the United States to compete and win in the 21st century.”
The 20-year moratorium bans mining activity over about 350 square miles of federal land in the Superior National Forest south of the Boundary Waters but within the same watershed as the wilderness.
Proponents of the ban argue that the economic benefits of mining aren’t worth the risks of pollution in the Boundary Waters – a fragile, 1 million-acre wilderness of interconnected lakes and rivers that hosts more than 150,000 visitors a year and supports a thriving tourism and recreation-based economy.
Opponents argue that modern mines in Minnesota could both safeguard the environment and produce important minerals, while at the same time injecting potentially billions of dollars into the region.