The Biden administration is stymieing its own “green” energy efforts after the Interior Department announced the blocking of mining in parts of Northeast Minnesota for the next 20 years.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed Public Land Order 7917, withdrawing 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest from leasing to mining or geothermal companies through 2043, according to the department’s press release. The administration has canceled multiple mining projects over the past two years while prioritizing a green energy transition, which requires mining of critical minerals and metals.
“The Department of the Interior takes seriously our obligations to steward public lands and waters on behalf of all Americans. Protecting a place like Boundary Waters is key to supporting the health of the watershed and its surrounding wildlife,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, according to the DOI press release.
There is only one Boundary Waters. It should be enjoyed by and protected for everyone, today and for the generations to come. pic.twitter.com/Wpe6Ntl65o
— Secretary Deb Haaland (@SecDebHaaland) January 26, 2023
The company running the proposed mining project is Twin Metals, a subsidiary of Chilean-based Antofagasta, one of the top ten global copper producers, according to its website. The mining areas have a vast amount of copper and nickel, while the mine itself would produce 20,000 tons of ore per day, according to Twin Metals’ website.
Copper and nickel lithium are essential to the fabrication of renewable technologies, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report published in May.
Twin Metals conducted a feasibility study for this project in 2019, which was an underground copper-nickel mine and processing facility along the South Kawishiwi River and Birch Lake, according to Mining.com.
The door for the project was opened when then-President Donald Trump, who hailed Minnesota miners and workers, reversed an Obama administration decision to block all mining projects in the Rainy Water watershed for 20 years, according to Mining.com.
The plans were first deterred when outdoor recreation groups and environmental advocates challenged Trump’s reversal in 2019, according to Mining.com. In the meantime, the Biden administration blocked the project over pollution concerns, and in August 2022, the company sued to have the project resurrected.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration had no problem funding foreign mining projects in countries such as Canada, the EU and UK. If the mine were built, it would provide a surplus of American mining jobs.
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