ELY — Save the Boundary Waters celebrated a significant victory last week while warning of mounting federal pressure to fast-track copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Executive Director Ingrid Lyons told Tuesday Group attendees that the organization successfully removed mining-friendly language from the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a large reconciliation bill currently working its way through the U.S. Senate. The language would have been a fast track to opening the controversial mines. However, that legislative win was quickly overshadowed by continuing federal efforts to push the projects forward.

Protected wilderness at stake
The mining controversy centers on 4.3 million acres of wetlands in the Rainy River Watershed, encompassing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Voyagers National Park, Superior National Forest, and Quetico Provincial Park. These protected lands represent increasingly rare spaces untouched by urban sprawl, light pollution, or noise — places that remain truly wild with clean, fresh water.

Legislative and executive threats mount
Lyons recounted her recent lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., where she worked to counter Representative Pete Stauber’s February bill, HR 978. That legislation would overturn the 20-year ban on mining federal lands in the Rainy River headwaters and force the issuance of four federal mineral leases for Twin Metals with what Lyons called “extremely favorable” lease terms, including a 70-year term and reinstated prospecting permits.
The bill would prohibit judicial review while requiring completion of environmental review in 18 months and permitting six months thereafter.
Beyond the legislative threat, Lyons outlined additional federal actions targeting the wilderness protection, including three presidential executive orders, two secretarial orders, and suspension of relevant legal opinions.
These measures included a presidential emergency declaration prioritizing mining on federal public lands and directing rapid approval of priority mining projects. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum signed a secretarial order suspending legal opinions issued during the Biden administration, including one declaring the unlawful issuance of two mineral leases in the Superior National Forest.

Reconciliation bill victory short-lived
As Lyons waited at the airport to return home from her Washington meetings, she learned of a social media post by Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins announcing that the USDA was “initiating the process to cancel the mineral withdrawal in the Rainy River watershed on the Superior National Forest.” Rollins said that “after careful review, including extensive public input, the U.S. Forest Service has enough information to know the withdrawal was never needed.”
Lyons disputed that characterization, noting that extensive public input led to the 2023 withdrawal.
“Six hundred and seventy-five thousand Americans, over the course of eight years, weighed in, and 95 percent of that group said they were against it,” she said. Save the Boundary Waters was unaware of any recent efforts to collect additional public comments.
During a House Natural Resources Committee hearing, Lyons observed Stauber use his five-minute questioning period to secure Burgum’s commitment to canceling the withdrawal and returning leases to the company. Stauber also admitted to calling Rollins before the social media announcement.
“If we’re creating policy about public lands with one lawmaker making one call to a cabinet member and then them tweeting about it, public lands are in a tough spot,” Lyons said.
Multiple agency
rejections
Lyons emphasized the project’s history of regulatory denials.
“The U.S. Forest Service has said no in 2016, 2022, and 2024. The Bureau of Land Management said no in 2016 and 2023. The Department of the Interior said no in 2023,” she said.
Multiple scientific studies examining the mine’s impacts have consistently concluded it would not be a safe project.

Fact-checking mining claims
National Campaign Chair Becky Rom addressed common claims from mining proponents with detailed rebuttals. Contrary to assertions that only one mine is planned, Rom clarified that five mines are proposed for the area — one for each major metal deposit. Two would be underground operations at the Maturi Deposit and Birch Lake Deposit, while three would be open pits including the Spruce Road Deposit, Maturi Southwest Deposit, and Mesabi/Sunrise Deposit.
“The Birch Lake Mine would result in the transformation of the Birch Lake - South Kawishiwi area to a large industrial mining complex,” she said.
Rom also disputed claims that the mines would not produce acid. The EPA determined that rock from the Duluth Complex has the inherent capacity to generate acid, with studies showing the Maturi deposit has higher acid-generating potential than other deposits. Long-term testing by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources of samples from the Kawishiwi Intrusion showed that neutral material becomes acidic after 800 weeks, or 15 years.
“So the problem could sit there for a long time before you realize and see the evidence of acid-mine drainage,” Rom said.

Modern mining’s pollution record
Addressing claims that modern mines don’t pollute like older operations, Rom cited a March peer-reviewed study of eight modern non-ferrous mines permitted after 1990. The study found that all eight degraded surface water quality, at least seven degraded groundwater quality, and at least six produced outcomes significantly worse than mining companies had predicted. Seven exceeded permit limits.
The Boundary Waters already suffers from mining pollution, Rom noted. Water testing by Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness found sulfate pollution above the legal limit of 10 parts per million, attributed to upstream iron ore mines including the closed Dunka Mine and Peter Mitchell Mine. Readings from the Dunka pit exceed 1,000 parts per million, and Fall Lake in the wilderness exceeds sulfate standards by 50 percent.

Twin Metals’ controversial plans
Rom outlined Twin Metals’ proposed operations, submitted to state and federal agencies in December 2019. The company proposed locating a tailings storage facility on 640 acres of state land along Birch Lake shores, including a 430-acre storage facility reaching 300 feet in height. Twin Metals proposed dry stacking storage, which the DNR considered too risky for northern Minnesota’s wet environment.
Responding to earlier claims about the deposit’s importance for renewable energy transitions, Rom characterized the mine as a low-grade deposit with less than one percent metal content. The extracted metals would be shipped to China where Antofagasta operates low-cost smelters before being sold back to the U.S. and global markets.
“It’s so small, it doesn’t contribute to solving U.S. demand for supply,” Rom said.

Call for continued activism
Northern Regional Organizer Gillian Fitzgerald closed the presentation by emphasizing the importance of public engagement and support for clean water protection. She outlined various ways to get involved, including volunteering for the Ely 4th of July parade, writing letters to editors, contacting representatives at all government levels regardless of state residence, wearing supportive t-shirts, and hosting yard signs. Fitzgerald offered to speak to additional groups.
More information and donation opportunities are available at savetheboundarywaters.org.