Prospects for copper-nickel mining projects in the region went from bleak to buoyant in a matter of a day.
Not long after the Twin Metals Minnesota project was dealt an apparent defeat in Congress, the Trump Administration offered a new lifeline by action taken Wednesday.
Via an announcement on X (also known as Twitter) Wednesday afternoon, the administration announced it would initiate the process to reverse a 20-year mining moratorium on federal land in northeastern Minnesota.
“After careful review, including extensive public input, the U.S. Forest Service has enough information to know the withdrawal was never needed,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Rollins added that she and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum “have been working together to unleash American Energy and today we are marking another step to ensure we are getting back in the mining and energy development game.”
The announcement came only a day after legislation that would have reversed the moratorium, and restored mineral leases once held by Twin Metals, was pulled from a budget bill moving through Congress.
Mining opponents hailed that decision as a great victory in their effort to torpedo the Twin Metals project, with U.S. Sen. Tina Smith saying, “Today marks a victory in our fight to protect the Boundary Waters,” but the Trump Administration was quick to counter.
U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, who has successfully introduced House legislation to end the mining ban and reinstate the Twin Metals leases, was quick to hail the efforts of the Republican administration.
“This announcement is great news for Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District, and the nation,” Stauber said in a statement released Wednesday night. “Former President Biden’s illegal decision to lock away these resources and throw away the key was not only harmful to my constituents, but it was harmful to this nation as it further cemented our reliance on Communist China for the critical minerals on which we all rely.”
Stauber and other mining boosters say Twin Metals mine not only would lead to an economic renaissance in the region, but provide resources needed in a green economy. He said Trump took a step to “reverse a magic wrong.”
“As the demand for critical minerals continues to skyrocket, I look forward to seeing Minnesota’s skilled miners safely deliver our vast mineral wealth to the nation using the best labor and environmental standards in the world,” said Stauber.
The back-and-forth this week marked just the latest round in a decades-old battle over new mining projects in northeastern Minnesota.
Copper-nickel mining has never been done in Minnesota, and comes 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 to build electric vehicles, solar panels and other technologies needed to power a carbon-free energy transition.
Those opposed say copper- nickel mining is too risky to be done in the region’s water-rich environment, too susceptible to pollution and likely to damage property values and the region’s amenity- based economy.
Some groups contend the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness would be at risk.
Earlier this year, Smith proposed legislation that would permanently ban precious metals mining on national forest land near Ely.
Smith, who is not seeking re-election in 2026, would prohibit new mining projects on over 350 square miles of land within the Superior National Forest and within the Rainy River Watershed.
Trump has taken an opposing approach, including an executive order to prioritize mining on federal lands and a 2024 campaign promise to reverse the moratorium put in place by the Biden administration.
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.
The latest shift brought howls of protest from the environmental community.
“The announcement by Secretaries Burgum and Rollins is shocking,” said Ingrid Lyons, executive director of Save the Boundary Waters. “They claim to have consulted with the people of Minnesota about the Boundary Waters when they clearly have not. We deserve so much better than this, as Minnesotans and as Americans.”
