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Legislation makes moratorium permanent, bans mining near BWCAW
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith is advancing legislation that would permanently ban precious metals mining on national forest land near Ely.
The bill, which was introduced this week, would torpedo the Twin Metals Minnesota project and make permanent a 20-year moratorium issued by the Biden administration two years ago.
Smith, who is not seeking re-election in 2026, would prohibit new mining projects on over 350 square files of land within the Superior National Forest and within the Rainy River Watershed.
“I’m not opposed to all mining in all places,” said Smith. “But this is not the place for this kind of mine. It is a particularly exceptional and unique piece of wilderness that would be damaged by copper-nickel mining.”
The legislation comes amid action by President Trump, including an executive order to prioritize mining on federal lands.
It also seems certain to face an uphill battle, particularly in the Republican-controlled U.S. Hosue of Representatives, where Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber has reintroduced legislation to end a mining ban on the national forest land and reinstate key mineral leases for Twin Metals.
“I am disappointed yet not surprised that another harmful piece of pro-China legislation has been introduced by an out-of-touch Democrat trying to prevent the responsible development of the Duluth Complex,” Stauber said in a statement released Wednesday. “If this last election taught us anything, it’s that Democrats have lost the confidence of working Americans, and legislation like this is a large reason for that.”
Stauber called it “offensive to oppose these worthy goals,” of creating good-paying jobs and revitalizing the region’s economy.
“With the introduction of this legislation, Senator Smith has once again proven herself to be anti-union,” said Stauber. “Fortunately, Senator Smith is in the minority and retiring soon, so any chance of this legislation becoming law is virtually impossible.”
Smith’s bill does not impact any of the state’s six operating taconite mines, but takes aim at copper-nickel projects, which face fierce opposition from environmental interests who charge the projects are too environmentally risky and potentially damaging to the area economy.
Smith’s bill would also halt some other exploration in the Duluth Complex, one of the largest untapped deposits of copper and other metals in the world.
Under Biden, the Department of the Interior imposed the moratorium after an environmental review concluded that copper-nickel mining in the region posed too great a risk of doing “irreparable harm” to the canoe wilderness area.
Biden reversed action taken by the Trump administration, which in turn reversed an Obama administration edict issued in 2016.
Copper-nickel mining has never beendoneinMinnesota,andcomes with it a greater risk of water pollution than iron ore mining, which has taken place in the region for more than a century.
New copper-nickel mines, such as the one proposed by Twin Metals as well as the NewRange operation proposed between Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes, have been hailed as the start of a new era of mining on the Iron Range.
The issue has become polarized, with environmental groups working to block new mining and supporters - including most of the region’s elected officials - in support.
Proponents say the new mines are needed to help supply minerals needed to build electric vehicles, solar panels and other technologies needed to power a carbon-free energy transition.
Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election and his return to the White House figure to brighten prospects for Twin Metals, which has tried for more than a decade to advance its plan for a mining operation near Ely.
The election also shifted the balance of power in the U.S. Senate to Republican control.
