[csusbpeace] Biden Administration Moves To Block Mining Near Minnesota's Boundary Waters
- From: "raccoon" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> ("bigraccoon1")
- To: "CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2021 21:52:07 -0700
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-minnesota-boundary-waters-mining-review_n_617034f1e4b010d9330b770c
<https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-minnesota-boundary-waters-mining-review_n_617034f1e4b010d9330b770c>
Biden Administration Moves To Block Mining Near Minnesota's Boundary Waters
The move could cripple a Chilean firm's effort to build a copper-nickel mine
a few miles from the Minnesota wilderness area.
10/20/2021
Outdoor enthusiasts travel by canoe through several of the hundreds of
freshwater lakes that make up the Boundary Waters in September 2019 in the
northern woods of Minnesota.
Andrew Lichtenstein via Getty Images
The Biden administration launched a review on Wednesday that could ultimately
block a Chilean mining giant from constructing a $1.7 billion underground
copper-nickel mine just a few miles from Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness.
The Interior Department is considering an application from the U.S. Forest
Service for a 20-year mining ban on more than 200,000 acres of national
forest land south of the Boundary Waters. As part of that process, federal
agencies will conduct a two-year study of potential impacts to natural and
cultural resources. During that time, no new mining activity is prohibited.
“A place like the Boundary Waters should be enjoyed by and protected for
everyone, not only today but for future generations,” Secretary of the
Interior Deb Haaland said in a statement. “Today the Biden Administration is
taking an important and sensible step to ensure that we have all the science
and the public input necessary to make informed decisions about how mining
activities may impact this special place.”
Twin Metals Minnesota, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chilean mining giant
Antofagasta, has a pair of mineral leases that date back to 1966. The
company’s planned mine has long been a political lightning rod
<https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amy-klobuchar-copper-mine-minnesota_n_5e57f949c5b6450a30bb90e8>,
not only in Minnesota but nationally. In the final weeks of President Barack
Obama <https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/barack-obama>’s administration,
federal agencies revoked
<https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2016/12/15/obama-administration-takes-steps-protect-watershed-boundary-waters>
Twin Metals’ leases, citing concerns that the mine could spoil the
wilderness and harm the area’s outdoor recreation industry. The Obama
administration ordered a similar review of potential environmental impacts.
The Trump administration, however, quickly revived the project, ending the
Obama-era study and renewing
<https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-renews-hardrock-mineral-leases-superior-national-forest>
Twin Metals’ leases in May 2019. The Trump family has ties
<https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amy-klobuchar-copper-mine-minnesota_n_5e57f949c5b6450a30bb90e8>
to Andrónico Luksic, the Chilean billionaire behind the mine.
The company said in a statement Wednesday it was “deeply disappointed” by the
announcement.
“We are working to determine the best path forward to continue advancing our
proposed world-class underground copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum group
metals mine,” it said.
Environmentalists fiercely oppose the project, arguing it could forever
pollute the 1.09 million acre Boundary Waters downstream — the most visited
wilderness area in the country. The process of extracting sulfide-bearing
minerals like copper and nickel can lead to acid mine drainage that can
persist indefinitely.
Twin Metals maintains
<https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amy-klobuchar-copper-mine-minnesota_n_5e57f949c5b6450a30bb90e8>
its design and the “unique geology” will prevent acid mine drainage from
occurring.
Democrats <https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/democratic-party> and
environmental groups applauded Wednesday’s announcement as a win for the
Boundary Waters and for science-based decision-making
<https://twitter.com/BettyMcCollum04/status/1450846345347096576>.
“You don’t allow America’s most toxic industry next to America’s most popular
Wilderness,” Becky Rom, national chair of the Campaign to Save the Boundary
Waters, said in a statement. “The Boundary Waters is a paradise of woods and
water. It is an ecological marvel, a world-class outdoor destination, and an
economic engine for hundreds of businesses and many thousands of people. This
is a great first step on the pathway to permanent protection.”
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