Feds Halt Mining Plans Near Minnesota Wilderness

The federal government denied the renewal of two mining leases near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which consists of more than one million acres of federally protected lakes and forests in northeastern Minnesota. In 2012, Twin Metals Minnesota filed for renewal of the two hard rock mineral leases it holds in the Superior National Forest, within three miles of the Boundary Waters. The two leases were originally issued in 1966 and most recently renewed in 2004, but no mineral production has occurred on either lease even though both allowed the mining of copper, nickel and associated minerals on the leased lands, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The mining company has proposed a cooper-nickel mine that it says will create hundreds of jobs for Minnesotans, but its plans have been put on hold by the government’s decision...more