The Biden administration has moved to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota from mining. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed an order closing over 350 square miles of the Superior National Forest to mineral leasing for 20 years.
committed itself to expanding domestic sources
of critical minerals and metals for the clean energy economy, it made clear Thursday that it considers Boundary Waters to be a unique area worthy of special protections. Twin Metals did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The company and its supporters say the project is critical for securing domestic sources of copper, nickel and other minerals needed for wind and solar power and electric vehicles. And they say the mine would create more than 750 high-wage mining jobs plus 1,500 spinoff jobs in the region.
The 1,700 square mile Boundary Waters Canoe Area is the most-visited federally designated wilderness area in the U.S. It draws more than 150,000 visitors from around the world who paddle its more than 1,200 miles of canoe routes and over 1,100 lakes. According to the Interior Department, it contributes over $17 million annually to the outdoor recreation and tourism economy in northeastern Minnesota. Three Ojibwe tribes exercise treaty rights in the area covered by the moratorium.
The order does not affect two other proposed copper-nickel projects in northeastern Minnesota — the PolyMet mine near Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes and the Talon Metals mine near Tamarack — which lie in different watersheds.
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