Stauber’s tall tales

In advancing his case for terminating a 20-year mining ban affecting about 225,000 acres of federal land within the Upper Rainy River Watershed, Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber wants you to believe two things that almost certainly are not true.
The first is that a Twin Metals mine will produce several hundred jobs on the Iron Range. For years, Twin Metals has been claiming that they expect to employ 750 workers, a number that has remained suspiciously stable even as the plans — as much as they’ve been revealed — appear to have downsized considerably from the original mine plan issued in 2014 by Duluth Metals. That was before Antofagasta became the primary partner in the Twin Metals joint venture.
If we’re looking at the statewide economy, 750 jobs is a drop in the bucket, equivalent to about a week’s worth of typical job creation in Minnesota. If those jobs were concentrated in the Ely area, they would have a greater local impact, but that’s not a promise anyone is making.
New mines being built in the developed world these days are highly automated, and that trend is only accelerating with the integration of AI. Keep in mind, even if Twin Metals got the green light to present a mine plan today, it would be one to two decades before a mine could actually open. What we know for sure is that the level of automation at that point in time would be light years beyond what we’re seeing even today.
If the company moved initially to open an underground operation, as they’ve indicated, it is likely that no employees will actually work underground. A human-free underground operation is far safer and cheaper for a mining company, since all the hazards and regulatory challenges associated with keeping workers underground essentially disappear.
While there would undoubtedly be some surface jobs, mostly in maintenance and tech support, there is no guarantee that those operating the underground equipment, which would be done remotely, will live anywhere in the region, or even in the state. Indeed, by the time the mine opens, most of the equipment is likely to be operated by AI. Much of the tech support will likely be handled by AI as well. Traditional mining jobs for the average guy or gal in our region are going to be increasingly scarce regardless of what happens with Twin Metals.
But if local job creation is disappointing, Stauber and other sulfide mining proponents argue we can at least rest easier knowing we’ll be developing our own domestic sources of critical minerals, like copper and nickel, which will be needed for our transition to a modern, renewable energy economy. Admittedly, you don’t hear that argument as much these days now that the Trump administration seems intent on promoting an energy future more akin to the 1890s than the 21st century. But for a congressman like Stauber, who is slavishly devoted to the administration’s “America First” rhetoric, his push to open a resource pipeline from northeastern Minnesota to China seems remarkably discordant.
Forget Stauber’s rhetoric, which is invariably off base. Antofagasta, the Chilean mining giant behind the Twin Metals project, has longstanding and lucrative relationships with metal ore processors in China, which is where any copper ore mined in our region would almost certainly end up. Unlike America’s current “back to the future” approach to energy, China is building out its renewable energy infrastructure and EV industry at a scale and speed that vastly exceeds anything the U.S. or any other country has envisioned, even under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. Indeed, China is intent on being Asia’s clean energy powerhouse and they are well on their way to meeting that goal. Which means China will need whatever copper resources might eventually be mined from our region and they’ll have ready access to them from government-owned processing facilities.
Far from America First, Stauber’s push for a copper-nickel mine near the Boundary Waters would threaten America’s most pristine waters, and a sustainable local economy, all to help China build an advanced and affordable energy system while America engages in energy self-immolation. It’s bad policy from start to finish.
Despite Stauber’s rhetoric, Ely long ago transitioned to an amenity-based “way of life” that offers a long-term sustainable economy that already employs far more local residents than Twin Metals ever will. Those are permanent jobs that Stauber appears more than happy to put at risk in favor of the dubious promises of a foreign, billionaire-owned mining company.
One thing’s for sure. Pete Stauber is serving someone’s interests, just not the interests of northeastern Minnesota.