On April 16 the U.S. senate voted to overturn a 2023 ban on mining in 225,000 acres of protected federal land near the boundary waters of Minnesota, a natural area that plays a vital role in the region’s ecosystem and climate resiliency. This 20-year ban was enacted by the Biden administration after years of environmental advocacy demanding protections of the nature area from copper sulfide mining, which is considered the most polluting industry in the country.
This mining, which is now approved by the Senate and will be signed by Trump, will subject this critical area to acid mine drainage, loss of habitat, forest fragmentation, invasive species, and air, noise, water and light pollution. This is no surprise as Trump has had his eye on the boundary waters since his first term in office, canceling the initial ban proposed by the Obama administration back in 2018.
What are the boundary waters?
The boundary waters are not just any wilderness area. It is a sacred, cherished and essential system of ecology and biodiversity. It’s the ancestral region of the Anishinaabe people, who remain stewards of the land despite a long history of broken treaties and promises. It is the place of hundreds of thousands of canoe trips, campsites, scenic hikes and fishing trips every single year, a sanctuary for many Minnesotans and visitors.
The area is 1.1 million acres of delicate and interconnected natural systems, including over 1,100 lakes, hundreds of miles of rivers and streams and hundreds of thousands of acres of old-growth forest that survived the early American logging industry.
The boundary waters act as a natural defense to the changing climate as a carbon sink, storing nearly a billion tons of carbon, serving hundreds of different species, including some endangered, and holding 20% of the all freshwater in the entire U.S. National Forest System. Every acre of the boreal forest that makes up the majority of the wilderness area stores nearly 180 tons of carbon and twice that for every acre of wetland.
Mining projects in this area will not only decimate the fragile ecosystem, but will also release millions of tons of carbon into the air. This will have detrimental effects on Minnesota’s land and water systems, but will also have permanent regional consequences to the health and wellbeing of millions of residents.
Politicians and the corporation, Twin Metals, pushing forward the reversal are trying to promote the narrative that this is best for the economy and jobs. But the truth is that a healthy Boundary Waters is vital to the Minnesota economy. The area supports approximately 17,000 jobs in northeastern Minnesota through tourism and recreation and generates over $900 million in annual sales, which is put at risk by the project.
Twin Metals has proposed creating an “underground city,” requiring extensive blasting, excavation and industrial processing of the land. The Chilean company plans to mine 20,000 tons of ore every single day, 99% of which will be rock waste as the metal concentration in the area is so low. This means that this incredible scale of destruction, pollution, and job and revenue loss would have minimal output, likely causing irreparable damage in its wake.
Long history of exploitation and resistance
This is not the first attack on Minnesota’s natural resources. In fact, Minnesota has a massive target on its back put there by corporations who are desperate to capitalize on every drop of fresh air and water in the state. Northern Minnesota has already been subject to detrimental impacts of corporate greed, one of the most significant examples of recent years being the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline replacement project which, despite extreme opposition against treaty violations and environmental threats, was built in 2021.
This fight, led by indigenous communities, environmental activists and local residents, was unsuccessful and resulted in the arrest of 773 protesters. In just the construction phase, Enbridge caused disastrous groundwater and aquifer leaks. Enbridge was fined $1,000 (the maximum charge under state law) while protesters were fined up to $25,000, exemplifying how the capitalist system is structured to protect corporations and punish any resistance to big business.
Recently, Minnesotans have been fighting back against data centers across the state that further threaten the waterways, ecosystems and stability of communities, including against the hyperscale data center in Hermantown outside of Duluth dubbed Project Loon. Minnesota Power, the investor-owned utility company serving Northeastern Minnesota, has been a longtime advocate of both data center and mining projects in the state for the massive energy consumption potential. The company was bought out by BlackRock, the world’s largest investment conglomerate, in October of 2025, who would now benefit tremendously from Twin Metals and Project Loon if passed.
This is just another violent attack on Minnesotans, not two months after the ICE operation was beaten back by people power. Politicians in power have proven that the lives and wellbeing of Minnesota communities are inconsequential to their goal to line the pockets of the ultra-wealthy. There is a long history of fighting advancing threats to the boundary waters. The first copper mining leases were approved by the federal government just two years after the 1964 Wilderness Act was signed into law.
There has been a push and pull of bans and leases for the decades since. The most recent supposed “20-year mining ban” passed in 2023 came after years of political back and forth between administrations. However after just three years, it has already been reversed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate through the “Gut Conservation Act”, requiring both Democratic and Republican support to do so and disregarding the nearly 700,000 public comments that informed the original ban.
This is a significant win for the Trump administration and has deeply concerning implications.
Socialism means permanent protections
Using the Congressional Review Act to repeal the mining ban could create a precedent to allow Congress to undo any action taken by an administration. The Act can overturn federal agency rules and regulations through a joint resolution of approval in Congress and a president’s signature, unrestricted by the filibuster rule.
What this emphasizes is that any “permanent” protections for people under capitalism are a farce. No hard-earned wins for working people are safe under capitalism. Activists and residents have to fight and win the same battles again and again, while the threats to our well-being continue to advance. This reversal is a severe escalation in attacks against, not only Minnesota’s natural resources, but the entire global ecosystem. But we will not stand by and let our communities be put under attack yet again. Minnesotans will stand up and fight like we always do.
But this time we need to fight to eliminate these threats to our systems, communities, and livelihoods. Our democratic rights and our environment are not bargaining chips to change from administration to administration. We have a duty to ourselves and each other to fight for our environment and to fight for a better future. We are building collective power so we create a new system, one where we don’t need to worry about corporations destroying our lands for the sake of ever-record breaking profits. One for the people – where the health and well-being of our communities and of the planet are put above profit.
Featured image courtesy of Liberation Photo.
