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Senate Weighs Bid to Undo Boundary Waters Mining Ban This Week

The resolution invokes the Congressional Review Act to nullify a 2023 Interior moratorium on 225,000 acres upstream of the wilderness.

Overview

  • H.J. Res. 140 cleared the House on a narrow party-line vote and could reach the Senate floor as soon as Tuesday.
  • The Department of the Interior imposed the 20-year withdrawal in 2023 after years of review and more than 675,000 public comments.
  • Conservation groups and hunting‑angling advocates warn copper‑nickel sulfide mining at the headwaters threatens enduring water contamination in the Boundary Waters.
  • Supporters, including Twin Metals and industry advocates, say the project would deliver hundreds of jobs, inject billions into the regional economy, and strengthen domestic mineral supply.
  • The proposed mine would be developed by Chilean‑owned Twin Metals, and critics point to Reuters reporting that parent company Antofagasta was recently fined nearly $1 million in Chile for water‑management violations.