On January 21, 2026, The U.S. House of Representatives voted to overturn federal protections that prevent copper-nickel sulfide mining upstream of the BWCAW, following a joint resolution filed by Minnesota Representative Pete Stauber. The resolution targets lands in Superior National Forest sought by Twin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of Chile-based mining company Antofagasta.
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in Northern Minnesota is one of the most-visited wilderness areas in the United States with approximately 250,000 annual visitors. The 1.1 million-acre wilderness area is home to wolves, moose, lynx, excellent fishing and, of course, world-class canoeing.
Mines upstream of the Boundary Waters could introduce sulfuric acid to the watershed
Northeastern Minnesota has a long history of iron mining; Chris Knopf, Executive Director of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, a 50-year-old organization dedicated to the protection of the BWCAW, emphasized that iron mining historically conducted in the Iron Range, including the small trail town of Ely, Minnesota, is different from the currently proposed mining upstream of the BWCAW.
“This type of mining is copper-nickel sulfide mining,” shared Knopf. “When you have copper and nickel exposed to the air, you’re also exposing sulfide to the air and water, so you create sulfuric acid.”
Knopf claims that these proposed mines will create mine drainage containing sulfuric acid that will get into the watershed.
“With sulfuric acid in the water system and the ecosystem, there are a couple direct effects,” explained Knopf. “First, mercury that’s otherwise inert in the environment gets mobilized. Elemental mercury turns into methyl mercury in the water system, and from the water system it gets into plants, that gets into animals, that gets into humans.”
Knopf added that mercury is a neurotoxin known to impair brain development in infants and young children, raising concerns about long-term health impacts in communities downstream of proposed mines.
“This pollution will directly impact the neurological development of young people in northeast Minnesota,” said Knopf. “This has cultural implications in addition to the environmental issues.”
Twin Metals has claimed in a statement on responsible mining the project will not discharge process water and will reuse the water used in concentrating the minerals water onsite and that tailings will be non-acid generating due to mining methods and unique geology of the mineral deposit.
Opening the most visited wilderness area in the United States to mining
In 2023, the U.S. Department of the Interior under former U.S. President Biden issued a 20-year mining moratorium that included protection for land in the Superior National Forest upstream of the BWCAW. The overturning of this moratorium could pave the way for permits to be issued allowing Twin Metals to mine upstream of the BWCAW.
Throughout the wilderness area, paddlers, anglers, hunters and recreationalists can find over a million acres of lakes and boreal forest. With limits on motor use, the quiet waters of the BWCAW make for one of the most unique and accessible wilderness destinations for paddlers in the United States. Beyond recreational value, the BWCAW is culturally important to Minnesota and the outdoor community throughout the Midwest.
“In addition to this being the most visited wilderness area in the United States, having 20 percent of the freshwater in the national forest system, and supporting 17,000 jobs in the northeastern Minnesota outdoor recreation economy, the BWCA is a place where we have made family memories,” shared Kristen Lease from the social media channel Kristen in Minnesota.
“It’s a place to enjoy the natural wonders of Minnesota, get close to loons, paddle on pristine lakes, hike in the wild and spend quality time together without cell reception,” added Lease. “Seeing politicians ready to throw this place that belongs to the American people away for a foreign mining company is devastating.”
Analysis found Boundary Waters recreation provides more jobs to Minnesotans than proposed mines
Representative Stauber has argued that lifting the ban would support domestic mineral production and support local jobs, stating in the Duluth News Tribune that the prevention of mining in the region has “come at a huge cost to our economy and national security.”
However, a 2018 letter from Harvard professor James H. Stock preceding the 2023 mining moratorium advised Superior National Forest officials that an economic impact analysis found that while reinstating the federal mineral leases held by Twin Mining Minnesota within the Superior National Forest would likely result in a temporary net growth in employment in the Ely region, the initial economic benefit would eventually be outweighed by the negative impact of mining on the recreation industry.
“This leads to a boom-bust cycle in all the scenarios we examine,” wrote Stock. “In which the region is in the end left worse off economically.” The study examined 72 different income scenarios; in 69 of these 72 scenarios, it was found that the net present value of income under mining withdrawal from the region exceeds that under no-withdrawl.
According to Save the Boundary Waters, mining in the region would put 22,000 jobs at risk.
Fight continues for BWCAW advocates
“Friends of the Boundary Waters was founded 50 years ago. It’s our 50th anniversary. We stand on the shoulders of those that worked back in the 1970s to protect the Boundary Waters,” shared Knopf. “This is a generational effort to protect the Boundary Waters.”
While the U.S. House of Representatives voted to overturn the mining ban upstream of the BWCAW, Knopf emphasized that this vote does not mean that mining will begin in the immediate future.
“There are a number of steps that need to be taken before a shovel can be put on the ground. So we’ll be looking at legal challenges to this,” said Knopf. “Twin Metals has federal, state, and privately owned mineral leases, so it requires state leases as well. We will be working very hard, obviously in federal court, but also at the Minnesota legislature to generate support for protecting the Boundary Waters”.
“I think to experience the Boundary Waters is to love it,” added Knopf. “Anyone who’s been there knows how special it is and knows why we work so hard to protect it, and we will fight to the very end for this.”
We are caught between a rock and a hard place. Getting to net-zero is going to require an enormous increase in copper production but it is difficult to do that type of mining without it having some negative impact on the environment.
Most paddlers use the water for drinking. What would mining do to the safety of potable water?