"The Trump administration and northeast Minnesota Republican Congressman Pete Stauber are taking action to end a 20-year mining ban near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area that was imposed three years ago under former President Joe Biden. 

The move could pave the way for Twin Metals Minnesota, which is a subsidiary of the giant Chilean mining firm Antofagasta, to re-apply for state and federal permits to open a proposed underground mine for copper, nickel and other metals outside Ely and just a few miles south of the federally protected wilderness area. 

The action, first reported by Reuters, appears to be based on a procedural oversight by the Biden administration. 

The 20-year moratorium imposed under the Biden administration bans mining activity over about 350 square miles of federal land in the Superior National Forest south of the Boundary Waters but within the same watershed as the wilderness."

Dan Kraker reports for Minnesota Public Radio January 11, 2026. [2]