Trump, Congress move to overturn Minnesota mining ban

[Ben Graham]

US President Donald Trump and Congress are moving to overturn a Biden-era mining ban on public lands in northern Minnesota, leading to the revival of one of the nation’s biggest mining projects, Reuters reported citing official government documents.

According to the news outlet, the move has been in the offing for much of the past year and involves “a complex series of legislative steps.” The plan, set to be introduced this week, came together after efforts failed to include the measure in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed into law last July, congressional staffers told Reuters.

It highlights the Trump administration’s intensified push to bolster the US supply of critical minerals. Minnesota, in particular the Duluth region in the north, is known for its vast endowment of copper, nickel and cobalt, which are essential materials in electric vehicles, AI data centers, wind turbines, weaponry and a myriad of other devices. These resources have mostly been untapped to this day.

20-year ban

Development of mineral projects in the region has long faced obstacles. In 2023, then-president Joe Biden issued a 20-year mining ban on more than 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest near the US-Canadian border, citing environmental concerns and the economic value of outdoor recreation.

However, Interior Department officials argue that the ban was not properly filed in the Congressional Record, as required under a federal lands law introduced in 1976, and are now submitting the paperwork to Congress. If lawmakers reject the ban within 60 days, it would be nullified and future administrations barred from issuing similar orders under the Congressional Review Act.

Republican Representative Pete Stauber, whose district covers northern Minnesota, plans to introduce legislation this week to formally reject the ban.

“We have industries here in our country that need these critical minerals. We must never rely on foreign adversaries like China for supply,” Stauber, who is also chair of the US House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, told Reuters.

Twin Metals boost

If the mining ban is lifted, the Trump administration would then be free to reissue mining leases to projects in the area. The biggest beneficiary would arguably be Chile’s Antofagasta, whose Twin Metals unit has been trying to develop a massive copper-nickel mine on public land for decades.

The project’s mining leases have become a political hot potato since their issuance in 1966. The Obama administration had taken steps to block the project, before Trump renewed them in his first term, only to have Biden cancel them.

Antofagasta loses bid to revive Minnesota copper-nickel project

Twin Metals representatives told Reuters that it expects to get the leases back in the near future and that it is “very appreciative of Congress for their efforts to overturn an unnecessary and detrimental action that locked out a significant domestic source of critical minerals.”

The company’s project sits on one of the world’s largest polymetallic deposits and would be the first underground mine in Minnesota since 1967. It would also be the next major nickel mine in the US, as its only existing one is set to close near the end of the decade.

Stauber also confirmed to Reuters that the government is already working on reissuing the leases, but he did not have additional details.