US Senate backs mining near Boundary Waters
A narrow Senate vote has revived a major mining project, but the political and environmental fight is far from over.
The US Senate voted 50-49 to repeal a Biden-era moratorium on mining near Minnesota\'s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, handing a significant victory to supporters of domestic mineral production while alarming environmental groups that see the region as one of America\'s most vulnerable natural treasures.
The moratorium, introduced in 2023, blocked mining across 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest for 20 years. Its removal improves the prospects for Twin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, which wants to build a copper and nickel mine a few miles from the Boundary Waters. Advocates say the project could create jobs and support US access to strategically important metals.
Critics, however, argue that the risks of sulfide mining near a vast interconnected water system are exceptionally serious. They warn that contamination could spread through lakes and rivers in an area prized for recreation, wildlife and wilderness tourism. Opponents also stressed that the company is foreign-owned, undercutting claims that the project is clearly aligned with national-interest arguments.
Although the House has already passed the measure and Trump is expected to sign it, the project still faces major hurdles. Legal battles, federal lease questions and state permitting requirements remain unresolved. Friday\'s outcome therefore marks an important political milestone, but not the end of the fight over whether mining will actually proceed near the Boundary Waters.