BABBITT— Franconia Minerals, now a subsidiary of Twin Metals, has submitted a plan for exploratory drilling on existing leases near Birch Lake. 
The company is seeking leases in order to continue its longstanding mineral exploration in the Birch Lake area, according to company officials. The company is proposing to drill up to 19 test holes, mostly centered around Bob Bay, near the former Dunka Mine, a taconite pit that has been closed since the 1990s. In addition to test drilling, the company would conduct down-hole geophysical surveys in the newly drilled bore holes.
The proposed drilling would be centered around the company’s Birch Lake deposit, located several miles southwest of the so-called Maturi deposit, which is the largest copper-nickel deposit documented by Twin Metals. The Maturi location was the site of the company’s first proposed copper-nickel mine, but the company’s mineral rights to the site, obtained through federal mineral leases, expired.
The company’s plans have faced a roller coaster since late 2016, when the Obama administration denied the renewal of two federal mineral leases critical to the company’s mine plan. The Trump administration reversed that decision, and that decision was, itself, reversed by the Biden administration, which determined that the Trump administration had reissued the permits illegally. The Biden administration also instituted a 20-year ban on new mineral leasing on an additional 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest, including the area where Twin Metals hopes to mine someday. President Trump has since promised to lift the prohibition and renew the mineral leases, but has yet to take that step officially.
The area that Franconia is now seeking to explore avoids the federal lands in the area, and the permitting chaos that has gone with them. The site is located several miles to the southwest, closer to an existing mining district.
Franconia, originally founded by geologists and prospector Ernie Lehmann, has been exploring mineral deposits near and underneath Birch Lake for the past 20 years. The company became part of the Twin Metals joint venture in 2011, when Duluth Metals completed a purchase of the company. Duluth Metals was since bought out by Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, which has been working toward opening of a copper-nickel mine at the Maturi site. That proposal has faced widespread opposition given its proximity to the 1.1-million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, while also attracting support from local boosters who believe the jobs the mine would create outweigh the potential environmental risks.
Environmental groups remain skeptical of Franconia’s actions. “This exploratory drilling proposal is a precursor to copper mining underneath Birch Lake, which flows directly into the [Boundary Waters] wilderness,” said Ingrid Lyons, Executive Director of Save the Boundary Waters. “This continuation of exploratory drilling serves as an important reminder: the threat posed by copper mining in this special place is far from gone, and the entire watershed of the Boundary Waters - particularly state land - needs permanent protection from copper mining, not just federal lands.”
If the DNR approves the leases, Franconia would have until March 31, 2027 to complete its work.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that Franconia was seeking new mineral leases. In fact, the company was submitting a plan for drilling on existing leases.