Two significant moves this week — one from Congress and one from the Trump-aligned federal administration — aim to advance two highly contested mining projects in northeastern Minnesota: the Twin Metals project near Ely and NewRange Copper Nickel near Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes on the Iron Range.
On Thursday, the House Committee on Natural Resources released its portion of the budget reconciliation bill — a mechanism allowing legislation to bypass the usual 60-vote Senate threshold. The draft includes a bill from U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber to revoke a 20-year mining ban on federal land south of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The area includes the site of Twin Metals’ proposed underground mine near Birch Lake.
Stauber’s proposal would also reinstate two federal mineral leases for Twin Metals that were previously canceled by the Biden administration. Crucially, it would block environmental groups, tribes, and other opponents from filing lawsuits to stop the projects.
The Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to vote on the proposal Tuesday. If included in the reconciliation package, it could pass the Senate with a simple majority, avoiding likely Democratic opposition. Sen. Tina Smith, for instance, recently introduced a bill to make the current mining moratorium permanent across 225,000 acres of Superior National Forest.
“Republicans are treating our most precious wild places as nothing more than opportunities for industry to plunder, profit and pollute,” said Ashley Nunes, a public lands policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Meanwhile, the Trump-era “National Energy Dominance Council,” created via executive order, has designated NewRange Copper Nickel’s NorthMet project a federal permitting priority. NewRange — formerly PolyMet — first proposed its open-pit copper, nickel, and precious metals mine in 2004. While it secured approvals five years ago, key permits have since been revoked or paused due to legal challenges.
The project now appears on the federal government’s updated permitting dashboard, with a new timeline expected within two weeks. NewRange plans to submit a revised Section 404 wetlands permit to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in September, incorporating “new mining technology and sustainability practices.”
This move follows the Army Corps’ decision to revoke the previous wetlands permit after a lawsuit from the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which argued the mine would violate tribal water quality standards downstream.
“NewRange’s inclusion on the federal Transparency List recognizes the urgency of domestic mineral development, while committing to the highest environmental and sustainable design standards,” said NewRange President Tannice McCoy.
Still, any progress at the federal level won’t override Minnesota’s authority. Both projects must undergo rigorous state environmental reviews and secure permits from the Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Six years ago, the Minnesota DNR chose to conduct its own independent environmental review of the Twin Metals project, rather than align with a joint state-federal process.
U.S. Rep. Stauber emphasized the need for domestic resource development: “I call on the Walz Administration to follow the science and the law, while recognizing the demand for good-paying jobs and critical minerals found here at home. This project is a win-win for Minnesota.”
But critics remain staunchly opposed.
“Rep. Stauber is trying to sneak this wildly unpopular bill into the reconciliation process,” said Chris Knopf, Executive Director of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. “This is the mining industry’s dream bill. It guts clean water protections, gives away public land, and blocks judicial review — undermining our constitutional government.”