Can it be stopped? Mine opponents see options to halt development near the Boundary Waters.

MINNEAPOLIS - Environmental advocates and opponents of a proposed mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness vowed to continue fighting after the U.S. Senate voted on Thursday, April 16, to repeal a mining ban near the protected wilderness.

The vote allows for companies such as Twin Metals, owned by Chilean mining giant Antofagasta, to apply for mineral lease rights on 255,000 acres in the Superior National Forest.

In various comments following the vote, nonprofit groups, clean water advocates, and Democratic lawmakers laid out four possible strategies that they believe could keep the proposed Twin Metals mine from opening.

"Today is a very hard day," said Pete Marshall, a spokesman for nonprofit group Friends of the Boundary Waters. "It's a low point. But the Boundary Waters is worth fighting for and this fight is not over."

Lawsuit to challenge legality of Senate procedure

The Senate's 50-49 vote to eliminate a mining ban near the Boundary Waters was possible because Republican senators used a procedural move under the Congressional Review Act to remove the potential of a filibuster. That allowed the bill to pass with a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes that would normally be required.

Sen. Tina Smith suggested the next move is to challenge such a use of the Congressional Review Act on legal grounds.

"I question the legality of what Congress did because they clearly did not follow the process that is laid out in the law that governs public land orders," Smith said. "I think that is an area where you will see action next."

Fight the permits

Any mine would still need to win both state and federal permits. With the federal ban no longer in place, some environmental advocates will be turning their attention toward preventing companies such as Twin Metals from receiving those permits, especially at the state level.

State mining permits will be critical for the Boundary Waters going forward, said Ingrid Lyons, executive director of Save the Boundary Waters.

Minnesota is not powerless, said Paula Maccabee, executive director of Water Legacy.

"Minnesota has the ability to toughen up our regulations of mining," she said during a news conference following the vote. "Minnesota has an ability to stand up for our waters, and our tribes, and our nature and our people. We've shown that Minnesota can resist federal overreach. We can take care of our own, and that's what we're going to do from here on forward."

Ban the mine at the state level

DFL state lawmakers have proposed various bills to prevent mining projects near the wilderness area in recent years, but they've struggled to gain traction in the split Legislature.

State Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth, told reporters at a Capitol news conference that it may be difficult for the bills to get hearings before this session ends next month, but said she would be pressuring her colleagues and the Walz administration to step up.

"Now is the time for Minnesota elected officials to act," she said.

McEwen and other DFLers stressed that they support mining when done responsibly, but said the type of precious metal mining proposed near Ely has a bad environmental track record around the world.

"It is a sad day," said Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart, fighting back tears. "Once a watershed is polluted, it is nearly impossible to clean it up."

Pressure state regulators to revoke mineral lease rights

Leaders of the Sierra Club's North Chapter and the Friends of the Boundary Waters called on Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to revoke Twin Metals' state mineral lease rights.

State law allows the DNR to cancel the mineral lease rights of a company if the company doesn't use those rights or build a mine after a certain period of time. That time has long passed, Marshall said.

"Right now, Gov. Walz and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources can cancel one of Twin Metals' state mineral leases," he said. "What the DNR does today, in 2026, builds the foundation to stop this dangerous mine at the state level."

Walz's office declined to comment on the vote, and referred questions about Twin Metals' mineral lease to DNR officials, who did not respond to requests for comment.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.