ELY— A group of Ely area residents and St. Louis County Commissioner Tom Rukavina have voluntarily withdrawn their lawsuit against Gov. Mark Dayton, although they reserve the right to re-file it in the future.

The group, mostly comprised of board members of the group Up North Jobs, had filed suit against the governor last month, accusing him of colluding with federal officials and environmentalists to stop a proposed copper-nickel mine near Ely. The suit also accused the governor of violating a state law pertaining to the approval of mineral leases when he directed the Department of Natural Resources to deny an access authorization agreement that Twin Metals had requested.

The governor’s directive had no effect on any existing or pending state mineral leases, according to DNR Assistant Commissioner Barb Naramore.

The lawsuit was controversial, and was described as “dangerous and meritless” in a March 10 Timberjay editorial.

The group voluntarily dismissed the case, without prejudice, on March 13. Commissioner Rukavina said the group hopes to raise additional money and refile the case at a later date. “We moved a little too fast in our exuberance to defend the school kids and our way of life,” he said.