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The Senate on Thursday overturned a mining moratorium in Minnesota’s Superior National Forest, a boon for a Chilean mining company subsidiary and a stinging loss for environmentalists trying to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
The chamber voted 50-49 to overturn a protection imposed by President Joe Biden in 2023 that he set for 20 years. It clears the way for a long-stalled mine project proposed by Twin Metals Minnesota to restart plans to access the immense stores of copper and other minerals in the Superior National Forest near the Boundary Waters. It’s the latest step in a long battle over mining in the area, which has seesawed for years between Democratic and Republican administrations as environmental groups warn the project could pollute the country’s most visited wilderness area.
The mine sought by Twin Metals, a subsidiary of Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta
, seeks to access copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum buried deep under the Superior National Forest. While the site itself is outside of the Boundary Waters and the company dismisses pollution concerns, opponents say it would inevitably spill toxic chemicals into the Boundary Waters.
