The House passed a measure that would overturn a Biden administration ban on mining in northern Minnesota and bar future administrations from imposing a similar restriction on the region, which has untapped critical mineral reserves.
On Wednesday, the House voted 214-208 to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution written by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) that would end the Biden administration’s 20-year mining ban on 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest.
The region contains untapped reserves of copper, nickel, and cobalt. These critical minerals are necessary for technology applications in the energy and defense sectors. The resolution comes as the Trump administration has pushed to boost the domestic supply of critical minerals and reduce reliance on China, which controls the global supply.
“We need these minerals for our everyday life,” Stauber told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “We need them for our defense weapons. We need them for our computers. We need them to win the AI war.”
Republicans argue that the Biden administration 2023 mining ban was not properly filed in the Congressional Record, as required by law. The Trump Interior Department has now submitted a public land order notice, making the rule eligible for cancellation under the Congressional Review Act. Resolutions advanced under the CRA can bypass the filibuster and pass with a simple majority in both chambers. Once the resolution is passed by Congress and signed by the president, the agency is prohibited from issuing a similar rule.
Democrats, however, argue that Republicans’ procedural maneuvering is invalid. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) on Wednesday said on the House floor that lawmakers received a notice from the Interior Department about the public land order on Jan. 26, 2023. Lawmakers were given 90 days to disapprove the order, but Republicans failed to bring it to the floor, she said.
McCollum added that the purpose of CRAs is to regulate, not to issue public land orders. She said Republicans want to overturn land protections using a “legislative stunt.”
Republicans have used the CRA over the past year to undo many of Biden administration energy policies that are not aligned with the current administration’s agenda.
The ban was placed by the Biden administration due to concerns over environmental and recreational activities. Specifically, the administration said mining would cause irreparable harm to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and recreational activities in the region.
Stauber’s measure would open the door to mining in the region. Twin Metals, a subsidiary of the Chilean miner Antofagasta, has been trying for years to develop a mining project in the affected area. The Trump administration could potentially reissue the company’s mining lease, but it would still need to undergo environmental review and permitting.
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The “CRA only overturns the mining ban,” Stauber noted.
“Any mine that wants to mine has to follow the rigorous regulatory standards already in place,” he added. “They have to meet or exceed every single standard both federally or state before they would even be considered to be able to mine. This does not greenlight any project, it only reverses the illegal and dangerous mining ban that the Biden administration put forth.”
