The federal government issues a proposal that could ruin the Minnesota mine

ST. Paul, Minnesota (AP) —The US Forest Department released a draft environmental assessment on Thursday, laying the foundation for a 20-year moratorium on copper nickel mining upstream of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Formally, this proposal "withdraws" from a new mineral lease of approximately 352 square miles in the Rainey River basin in the Superior National Forest around the town of Erie for 20 years. It was a thing. This plan threatens to ruin the proposed twin metal mine near Lake Birch, which flows into a river that flows into border waters. However, it does not affect another project, the Polymet mine proposed near Lake Babbitt and Lake Hoyt in different basins.

The Forest Office will begin a 30-day comment period when it issues a notice to the Federal Register on Tuesday. The rating was posted on the project website go.usa.gov/xtaCw. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will make the final decision on whether to approve the moratorium.

"The proposed withdrawal of minerals is aimed at preventing further adverse environmental impacts from future mining operations," the Forest Department said in a draft announcement. rice field. “We will also assess the impact of future mining on important social, cultural and economic values.”

On behalf of the St. Paul region, permanent mining of copper nickel in that region. Democratic U.S. lawmaker Betty McCallum, who sponsors a law banning the country, welcomed the investigation. The Twin Metals project has been around for years. They say the risk of acid mine drainage poses an unacceptable threat to the country's most visited federal-designated wilderness areas.

In a statement, McCallum clarified that the draft "copper mining of sulfide ore in superior national forests is a toxic threat to border waters. This pristine and precious wilderness. Needs permanent protection. There is no doubt about the scientific foundation of the EA. Mining here is only too risky. "

However, Twin Metals said in a statement that the study was "uninformed by science" to ensure domestic access to copper and other minerals needed for renewable energy. It is inconsistent with the goals of the Byden administration. Energy economy.

"We will move this project forward, responsibly procure clean energy minerals and bring 750 family maintenance jobs and 1,500 spin-off jobs to the northeastern Minnesota community. I'm confident, "the company said.

Republican Rep. Pete Stauber, who represents northeastern Minnesota, where iron mining is a major industry, said the Biden administration was to kill twin metals rather than assessing the project for its own merits. He said the review was "politicized."

"Biden in Washington and St. Paul and his fellow elite Democrats have denied my membership in our way of life," Stauber said in a statement. "Joe Biden has clarified his position. He is not an American union mine worker who works to bring Minnesota's mineral wealth to the country and the world using the highest environmental and labor standards. We want foreign and child slave workers to produce minerals. "

The Forest Department first proposed a moratorium on the final day of the Obama administration, Twin. Canceled two federal mining rights leases for Metal. The Trump administration overturned that decision and canceled the environmental assessment process. However, the Biden administration revived the proposed moratorium last year and terminated the lease in January for illegally resurrecting the lease.

Twin Metals is owned by Chilean mining company Antofagasta. The proposed $ 1.7 billion underground mine was in the very early stages of the permit process until the State Department conducted its own environmental review in February due to the loss of a federal lease.

"The environmental assessment announced today provides a strong scientific foundation for a 20-year ban on copper mining near boundary waters," said the National Chair of the Campaign to Save Boundary Waters. Becky Rom said in a statement. .. "It is deeply rooted in peer-reviewed science, law, and established federal public land policies, examining local and American concerns about the risks that copper mining of sulfide ore poses to the wilderness."