Biden administration announces restrictions on hardrock mining in 225,000 acres of Minnesota wilderness

The Biden administration will protect some 225,000 new acres in a northeastern Minnesota wilderness area from mineral leasing, Interior Department officials confirmed on a call with reporters Thursday.

The protections will be effective for 20 years, officials said, and will protect parts of the Rainy River watershed, including lands ceded to the Chippewa Bands of Native Americans in 1854 and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The department asserted authorities granted to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to issue the restrictions.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was the site of a proposed copper-nickel mine in the adjoining watershed. In an October 2021 order, the U.S. Forest Service called for a full study of the potential impacts of the proposed Twin Metals project. The company said it was “deeply disappointed” by the move at the time. In August, Twin Metals sued to reclaim federal mining leases in the area, calling Interior’s moves “arbitrary and capricious” and saying they would hinder the development of necessary supply chains to transition away from fossil fuels.

Separately, in June 2022, the Forest Service issued a draft assessment proposing a 20-year ban on copper mining on federal lands in the watershed, determining that the activity would contaminate local waterways. The Interior Department also canceled two mining leases in the area that had been granted in 2019, saying the Trump administration renewed them improperly.

“Twin Metals Minnesota is deeply disappointed and stunned that the federal government has chosen to enact a 20-year moratorium on mining across a quarter million acres of land in northeast Minnesota,” a Twin Metals spokesperson told The Hill in a statement. “This region sits on top of one of the world’s largest deposits of critical minerals that are vital in meeting our nation’s goals to transition to a clean energy future, to create American jobs, to strengthen our national security and to bolster domestic supply chains.”

“The Biden-Harris administration has been clear in our commitment to ensuring that they can mine for the minerals that are necessary to help us shift to a clean energy economy. But we have to do so in a responsible manner,” an Interior Department official said on the call. “That includes balancing our commitment to ensure we protect some of our country’s most spectacular outdoor places for future generations.”

The administration based the decision on over 225,000 public comments, three public meetings and two tribal consultations, according to the official.

In a statement, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) praised the move, saying, “The freshwater in this area is pristine, and contamination from heavy metals and sulfuric acid from mine tailings would cause irreparable harm that would quickly spread through the Boundary Waters’ 1.1 million acres of interconnected lakes and streams.”

“This would damage the unique wildlife, hurt the region’s tourism industry and recreation-based economy, and preclude hundreds of thousands of visitors from Minnesota and across the country from enjoying this wilderness. Once damaged, it cannot be restored,” McCollum added.

The Minnesota Democrat has separately introduced legislation that would make the protections permanent rather than subject to reversal by a future president.

The National Mining Association, however, blasted the decision as running counter to the Biden administration’s decarbonization goals.

“At a time when demand for minerals such as copper, nickel and cobalt are skyrocketing for use in electric vehicles and solar and wind infrastructure, the administration is withdrawing hundreds of thousands of acres of land that could provide U.S. manufacturers with plentiful sources of these same minerals,” NMA President and CEO Rich Nolan said in a statement.

— Updated 3:36 p.m.