Minnesota DNR approves mining exploration plan just outside the Boundary Waters

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has given the go-ahead to additional underground mineral exploration near Ely, just outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, despite opposition from some environmental groups.

The plan allows Franconia Minerals, a subsidiary of Twin Metals Minnesota, to drill exploratory borings on state mineral leases at up to 19 drill pads on the north and south sides of Birch Lake, about 12 miles south of Ely.

The area is just south of where Twin Metals has proposed building an underground mine for copper, nickel and other precious metals.

The DNR’s approval, granted Monday, gives Twin Metals just over two years to complete the exploratory work. In an interview with MPR News in November when it submitted its plan, Twin Metals spokesperson Kathy Graul said it’s part of its broader work to map out the mineral deposits in the area.

Graul said some of the drilling will bore deep underneath Birch Lake, part of the Kawishiwi River system, which flows into the Boundary Waters.

Twin Metals says the work is routine. The company recently drilled exploratory holes at about six sites in the same general vicinity in 2023 and 2024. Twin Metals would have to submit a mining plan to state officials and go through years of review and permitting before any actual mining would be allowed.

Environmental groups object

Still, some environmental groups urged the DNR to reject the exploration plan. In a formal objection submitted to the DNR, the Friends of the Boundary Waters argued that copper-nickel mining poses an “existential threat to the Boundary Waters” and that the agency’s rules fail to protect the Boundary Waters from mining-related noise and light pollution.

The group also argues the exploration activity could exacerbate mercury and sulfate pollution in Birch Lake and negatively impact nearby areas, including two campgrounds and a 361-acre property Friends of the Boundary Waters recently purchased on the South Kawishiwi River.

"Despite having clear legal authority to deny this permit, and despite overwhelming opposition from Minnesotans, the Walz administration is holding the door open to this toxic industry,” said Friends of the Boundary Waters executive director Chris Knopf.

In response to the group’s objection, the DNR’s lands and minerals director Joe Henderson said the agency “added multiple special conditions” requiring Franconia Minerals to “take measures to protect the environment,” including additional requirements to minimize erosion, limit trail construction to access the drill pads, and mitigate noise and light impacts, among other steps.

Political whiplash

Twin Metals’ bid to build a mine on the doorstep of the Boundary Waters has been the subject of intense controversy and political whiplash for the past decade.

Proponents contend the mine would create hundreds of high-paying jobs and pump billions of dollars into the regional economy, while mining minerals needed to manufacture electric vehicle batteries and other clean energy technologies. They say modern mining methods can protect the environment.

But critics argue this kind of mining is much more environmentally risky than iron ore mining, because it has the potential to create acid mine drainage and leach heavy metals into the Boundary Waters and devastate the region’s outdoor recreation-based economy.

The mine’s prospects have seesawed back and forth in recent years. The company submitted a formal mine plan in 2019. But the Biden administration canceled Twin Metals’ federal mineral leases and imposed a 20-year mining ban on a huge swath of federal land south of the Boundary Waters.

The Trump Administration has signaled several times it plans to reverse those moves, but has not done so officially yet. Minnesota 8th District Republican Congressman Pete Stauber has also introduced legislation to undo the Biden administration’s actions.

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