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On October 21, the Departments of the Interior (DOI) and Agriculture (USDA) announced it would restart and complete a two-year study to determine whether it would be safe to mine copper-nickel in the BWCAW watershed.
The Trump administration halted the study in 2018, only months before its completion.
Further, the Biden administration filed an application calling for a 20-year ban on sulfide-ore copper mining conducted on federal lands in the BWCAW watershed.
Twin Metals LLC, a joint venture between Chilean Antofagasta PLC and Canadian Duluth Metals Ltd, proposed building a $1.7 billion underground mine near Birch Lake, seven miles from Ely and two to three miles from the BWCAW. Part of the proposal includes making miles of tunnels below ground. Trucks would haul the minerals that contain less than one percent of minerals and the rest would be wasted. The waste rock contains sulfides that, when exposed to water and air, can create sulfuric acid. When leeched into groundwater, rivers, lakes, sulfuric acid can poison for centuries, damaging fish, aquatic plants, birds, animals and potentially humans.
The decision to renew the BWCAW watershed study followed a request by the U.S. Forest Service, who submitted the withdrawal application to the BLM, which manages the subsurface tights of the Superior National Forest.
Becky Rom, National Campaign Chair, Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, hailed the announcement, “This is a huge win for the Boundary Waters, but let’s be clear: there is more to be done to ensure permanent protection for this wild and beautiful place that we all love.”
The decision by the US DA and DOI was made in response to “concerns about potential impacts of mining on the wilderness area’s watershed, fish and wildlife, Tribal trust and treaty rights, and the nearly $100 million annual local recreation economy, the administration is initiating consideration of a 20-year withdrawal of key portions of the national forest lands from disposition under the mineral and geothermal leasing laws, which would temporarily prohibit the issuance of new prospecting permits and leases in the area” stated the news release.
Minnesota Senator Tina Smith released a statement, saying in part, “Mining is an important tradition in Northeast Minnesota and an ongoing source of good jobs. At the same time, the BWCAW is fragile, and most Minnesotans understand that we can’t afford to be wrong about its protection. This study will help us get the safety of mining in the BWCAW watershed right.”
Rep. Rob Ecklund (DFL – International Falls) wasn’t as enthusiastic about the decision by the Biden administration.
“A fair environmental and regulatory review process for the Twin Metals project should be allowed to proceed without undue delays or interference. The roadmap announced today is duplicative, unnecessary, and arbitrary, preventing us from even considering the project and its potential to boost our regional economy. Transitioning to more carbon-free energy sources to fight climate change will require vast resources of copper, nickel, platinum, and cobalt, which are materials bountifully available in northern Minnesota, the sourcing of which could create hundreds of skilled union jobs. Like any proposal of this magnitude, Twin Metals will be studied and scrutinized, along with a substantial opportunity for public input provided. Living in northern Minnesota, we’d expect nothing less.
“We should follow the law and the ultimate outcome should be based in science, not politics,” stated Ecklund.
Congressman Pete Stauber also weighed in, writing a letter to Deb Haaland, the Department of the Interior Secretary. “We are concerned about the Department of the Interior’s intention to continue using northern Minnesota’s mining communities and natural resources as a political football. As you may be aware, the Duluth Complex, located entirely in the 8th District in northern Minnesota, contains 95 percent of America’s nickel, 88 percent of America’s cobalt, and more than one-third of America’s copper, among other significant mineral deposits. Development of this spectacular resource is necessary not only for economic development, but of American national security, global emission goals, and for countless other applications.”
In his letter to Haaland, Stauber pointed out that the company had signed a project labor agreement with the Iron Range Building and Construction Trades, “cementing its commitment to the community and a high-quality, union-protected workforce.” He also pointed out that, “The local workforce’s expertise and environmental stewardship are unmatched; it will build and operate a mine to fulfill our nation’s growing hunger for copper, nickel, cobalt, and others, instead of importing these minerals from tenuous sources like the Congo who have insufficient environmental standards and where Chinese-controlled mines employ child slave labor. We hope we can agree that slave labor must be needed and furthered by this administration’s policies.
When Haaland was a member of the House of Representatives she co-sponsored and voted for H.R 5598, a bill that withdrew more than 230,000 acres of Superior National Forest and targeted the Twin Metals project.
Twin Metals has said if the mine is allowed that 1,250 jobs would be created, 750 of those in the mines. It is expected the mining operation will last 30 years.
In 2019 Twin Metals released a statement saying that for the previous ten years, the company had been conducting “the largest geological study in Minnesota history, with more than $450 million already invested in scientific, geological and hydrological research.”
But research aside, some worry that if there is an accident, that the BWCAW watershed will be affected for hundreds of years. And it has been noted that to date, no copper-nickel mine conducted in sulfide-rich ore has not polluted a nearby watershed.
The two-year segregation of lands initiated by the Federal Register prohibits the issuance of new prospecting permits or leases for mining-related activities. Still, it does not affect valid existing rights or activities on private lands. Separately, there are two leases within the proposed withdrawal area associated with the Twin Metals Mine currently in litigation.
Publication of the Federal Register notice will also initiate a 90-day public review period for the proposed withdrawal and additional analysis during the segregation period, including Tribal consultation and further public involvement, including public meetings. This process will invite participation by the public, Tribes, state and local government, and other stakeholders interested in the stewardship of these lands and waters. The Secretary of the Interior has the authority to withdraw lands for a maximum of 20 years, subject to renewal; only Congress can legislate a permanent withdrawal.
Concluding its’ press release announcing the decision to renew the two-year study, the DOI and USDA stated, “Responsible development of domestic mineral supplies is important to transition to a clean energy economy. The study and two-year segregation from new mineral leasing will give USDA and DOI the opportunity to fully support science-based decision making in the Rainy River watershed.”
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