In brief
In a recent vote, Congressional Republicans have pushed a resolution aiming to lift a two-decade ban on mining activities near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. The House approved the measure amidst warnings from environmentalists that it could jeopardize one of the nation’s most pristine wilderness areas. The resolution now awaits consideration by the Senate, with potential implications for local ecosystems and outdoor recreation.
Congressional Republicans moved closer Wednesday to lifting a 20-year ban on mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, pushing a resolution to end the moratorium through the House despite environmentalists’ warnings that it could devastate a premier destination for campers, kayakers, and canoeists.
The resolution now goes to the Senate, and approval there would send it to President Donald Trump for his signature.
The push to end the ban comes as a Chilean mining company considers opening a copper mine in the Superior National Forest on the edge of the wilderness area that conservationists say could contaminate the watershed.
“Minnesota’s Boundary Waters is one of our nation’s most iconic wilderness areas,” Jackie Feinberg, the Sierra Club’s national lands conservation campaign manager, said in a statement. “This push by the Trump administration and their Congressional allies to allow toxic mining in the Boundary Waters watershed puts this fragile ecosystem at risk and is a clear giveaway to corporate polluters.”
A beloved destination for outdoor enthusiasts
Boundary Waters is a vast swath of remote woods, lakes, and swamps in the Superior National Forest in far northeastern Minnesota, stretching for about 150 miles along the border with Canada. It remains largely untouched by humans; logging is prohibited, planes must stay above 4,000 feet as they fly over it, except in emergencies, and motorized boats are limited to certain areas. The promise of serenity has drawn campers, hikers, kayakers, and canoeists for decades.
The Biden administration banned mining
Part of the Superior National Forest is situated on the Duluth Complex, a rock formation that contains deposits of copper, nickel, lead, zinc, iron, silver, and gold, according to the Forest Service. Twin Metals Minnesota LLC, a subsidiary of Chile-based Antofagasta Minerals, submitted a plan with the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2019 proposing to mine copper, nickel, cobalt, and other precious metals in the forest. President Joe Biden’s administration blocked the project in 2023, imposing a 20-year moratorium on mining on about 400 square miles in the forest, saying that was necessary to protect the watershed and canoe wilderness.
Trump pushes to relaunch mining projects
The president has sought to bolster domestic energy and mineral production, declaring an energy emergency just days after retaking office a year ago. Last fall his administration reinstated a 2017 legal opinion that allowed Twin Metals to renew its leases in the Superior National Forest, and Minnesota regulators approved its exploratory mining plans in December.
National security or toxic threat?
Republicans said on the House floor that they must open the door to mining near the canoe area to compete with China and Russia in the race for key minerals. Democrats painted mining as an existential threat to the wilderness, arguing that some places are just too precious to mine.
The House ultimately approved the resolution on a 214-208 vote. One Republican voted against it, and one Democrat voted for it. Advocates for conservation express concern that this resolution could undermine public land protections and lead to weakened environmental safeguards.
