Pete Stauber

REGIONAL— The U.S. House, this week, gave a narrow vote of approval for legislation that would rescind the mineral withdrawal affecting a portion of the Superior National Forest and require the reissuance of mineral leases for a proposed copper-nickel mine near Ely.
The measure, authored by Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber, stands little chance of passage in the Senate this year, although it could herald a changing tide toward wilderness protection depending on the outcome of the November election.
Stauber’s bill, HR 3195, called the “Superior National Forest Restoration Act,” would reverse the decision by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to issue a 20-year mineral withdrawal that prohibits new mineral leasing on about 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest, located within the upper reaches of the Rainy River watershed, upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The bill would also restore the mineral leases, formerly controlled by Twin Metals, that the Biden administration canceled in 2022 after concluding they had been issued by the Trump administration in violation of longstanding federal law. The leases had originally been canceled by the Obama administration in late 2016.
Stauber’s measure would also allow just 18 months for environmental reviews of any mine plans of operation filed on federal lands within the Superior National Forest. Such studies have typically taken several years to complete due to their complexity.
Reaction to the House vote from wilderness advocates was swift. Ingrid Lyons, executive director of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, called the measure a “giveaway” of America’s public lands to a foreign mining company. “It sets a dangerous precedent for the conservation of America’s most sensitive ecosystems. By attempting to undo Secretary Haaland’s prudent decision to ban sulfide-ore copper mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, HR 3195 directly contradicts the robust science, favorable public opinion, and sound legal basis of the Secretary’s decision.”
Passage of the bill is likely to reignite the longstanding debate in the region over the risks and potential benefits of a copper-nickel mine upstream of the canoe country, home to some of the most pristine waters in the lower 48 states. The economic feasibility of the proposed Twin Metals mine has never been demonstrated publicly since the company, which is controlled by Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, has yet to release any financial projections.
An earlier iteration of the mine concept showed marginal profitability.
While the Duluth Complex, a large geological formation known to contain vast quantities of copper, nickel, and other valuable metals, the formation is very low grade, which impacts both the profitability as well as the environmental impact of mining operations in the region.