Published: February 13, 2024 |

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A bill to permanently prohibit copper nickel mining in the Rainy River watershed in the Superior National Forest has been introduced in the U.S. House.

On Tuesday, January 31, U.S. House Rep. Betty McCollum (DFL - MN) introduced the “Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act.”

The bill seeks to prohibit copper nickel mining in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs National Park. It includes 234,328 acres of Federal Land in the Superior National Forest.

Copper nickel mining projects outside the Rainy River Drainage Basin are mentioned in the bill.

The bill follows a 20-year ban from the U.S. Department of the Interior for copper nickel mining in the Boundary Waters watershed.

Twin Metals Minnesota is looking to mine in that area. 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.

They say the mine would create more than 750 high-wage mining jobs plus 1,500 spinoff jobs in the region.

Twin Metals says it can mine safely without generating acid mine drainage that the Biden administration and environmentalists say makes the $1.7 billion project an unacceptable risk to the wilderness.

Source: Northern News Now

Twin Metals Minnesota is a Minnesota company focused on designing, constructing and operating an underground copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum group metals mining project in northeast Minnesota. The TMM project brings the promise of significant long-term jobs and environmentally responsible economic development for generations in Minnesota. Twin Metals is owned by Antofagasta, one of the top ten copper producers in the world.

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