Overview
- Using the Congressional Review Act, Congress nullified a 2023, 20-year mining withdrawal covering about 350 square miles of Superior National Forest after a 50–49 Senate vote.
- The change revives a path for Twin Metals Minnesota, owned by Chile’s Antofagasta, to seek permits for a copper‑nickel mine near Ely, with major hurdles that include environmental reviews and canceled federal leases now on appeal.
- Environmental groups and tribes condemned the decision and signaled they will challenge permits in court, warning that pollution could flow into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
- Critics say deploying the Review Act against a land withdrawal could weaken future executive protections for public lands by making them easier to unwind.
- Supporters argue lifting the ban could bring back Iron Range jobs and bolster U.S. supplies of copper and nickel used in energy and technology.