Four months after Congress overturned federal mining protections near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota is putting up a new roadblock.
Gov. Tim Walz signed Executive Order 26-10 on Tuesday, Aug. 18, directing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to halt environmental review and permitting work for new nonferrous mining projects in the Rainy River Headwaters Watershed. The watershed drains into the Boundary Waters, with more than 1 million acres of lakes, rivers, and boreal forest along the Canadian border.
The order also stops the state from issuing new nonferrous mineral and surface leases in the watershed and tells the DNR to review existing leases for compliance. Walz also directed the agency to draft legislation that would permanently prohibit nonferrous mining in the watershed.
“It’s our duty as Minnesotans to ensure the sacred place remains wild, pristine and unharmed,” Walz said Tuesday.
What the Executive Order Does
The order targets nonferrous mining, including the copper, nickel, and cobalt development that has fueled a decades-long fight over the future of the Boundary Waters watershed.
Under Executive Order 26-10, Minnesota agencies must stop new environmental review and permitting work for those projects until litigation over the state’s nonferrous mining rules is resolved. The DNR also won’t participate as a cooperating agency in federal environmental reviews for proposed nonferrous mines in the watershed.
There is an important distinction here. Minnesota isn’t shutting down an active mine or permit application.
The DNR said in April that it had no active nonferrous mining proposals pending in the Rainy River watershed. Twin Metals Minnesota has proposed an underground copper-nickel mine near Ely and upstream from the Boundary Waters, but that project still faces significant federal and state hurdles.
Twin Metals is owned by Chilean mining company Antofagasta and has pursued development in the area for years. Its federal mineral leases were canceled by the Biden administration in 2022, and the company has continued fighting to restore its ability to develop the project.
Congress Reopened the Door to Mining in April
Tuesday’s order is a direct response to what happened in Washington earlier this year.
In 2023, the Biden administration withdrew roughly 225,000 acres of federal land in Superior National Forest from mineral leasing for 20 years. The move effectively blocked new mining development across a large portion of the watershed surrounding the Boundary Waters.
Congress voted to overturn that protection this spring. The Senate approved the measure 50-49 in April after it had already cleared the House, and President Donald Trump signed it shortly afterward. The decision revived the possibility of copper, nickel, and cobalt development in the region, although it didn’t hand Twin Metals an immediate green light to start digging.
The company would still need to secure the mineral rights necessary for its project and clear a long list of federal and state environmental reviews and permits. Walz’s order now blocks work on the state side of that process while the ongoing Minnesota mining-rule lawsuit plays out.
The Order Is Already Drawing Bipartisan Pushback
Mining supporters argue that copper, nickel, and cobalt development could bring jobs and investment to northeastern Minnesota while increasing domestic access to minerals used in energy, electronics, and other industries. Twin Metals has maintained that its underground mine can be developed responsibly and should be evaluated through the normal environmental review process.
U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, a Republican whose district includes northeastern Minnesota and who led the congressional effort to overturn the federal withdrawal, blasted Walz’s move Tuesday. He accused the governor of waging an “outright war on Northern Minnesota and our way of life.”
The opposition isn’t entirely partisan. Minnesota DFL Sen. Grant Hauschild, who represents much of the region, also said he strongly disagrees with Walz’s order.
Conservation groups, meanwhile, welcomed it. They have long argued that sulfide-bearing copper mining carries an unacceptable pollution risk in a landscape defined by interconnected lakes and streams flowing into the wilderness.
What Happens Next
Walz’s executive order makes the path toward a mine near the Boundary Waters significantly harder, but it doesn’t settle the larger fight.
The immediate permitting freeze is tied in part to the unresolved Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness v. DNR litigation over whether Minnesota’s existing nonferrous mining rules adequately protect the Boundary Waters watershed.
Walz has also ordered the DNR to propose legislation permanently prohibiting nonferrous mining in the Rainy River Headwaters Watershed. That would require lawmakers to act, and Tuesday’s bipartisan criticism makes passage far from certain.
