United States President Donald Trump overturned a 2023 decision by the Biden administration that had placed a 20-year ban on mining and geothermal leasing across more than 910 sq. km of national forest land in northeastern Minnesota.
H.J.Res. 140, signed into law on Monday, reopens large swaths of territory in Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis counties to potential resource development, reversing a key conservation measure put in place by the Bureau of Land Management.
On April 16, the U.S. Senate narrowly voted to overturn the mining ban, agreeing with the House of Representatives and sending the bill to Trump.
The move gives a major boost to Antofagasta’s (LSE: ANTO) Twin Metals copper, cobalt and nickel project, as well as other proposed mines in the region bordering Canada.
Critical minerals
A future president could not replicate Biden’s ban because of a provision in the 1996 Congressional Review Act.
Monday’s decision highlights the Trump administration’s intensified push to bolster the U.S. supply of critical minerals. Minnesota, in particular the Duluth region in the north, is known for its vast endowment of copper, nickel and cobalt, which are essential materials in electric vehicles, AI data centers, wind turbines and weaponry. These resources have mostly been untapped.
With the mining ban lifted, the Trump administration is free to reissue mining leases to projects in the area. The biggest beneficiary would likely be Chile’s Antofagasta, whose Twin Metals unit has been trying to develop a massive copper-nickel mine on public land for decades.
Opponents say that U.S. environmental standards are too lax and even if Twin Metals were to meet them, the proposed mine could pollute the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a 4,000 sq. km preserve on the US-Canada border.
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