Trump vows to open Minnesota's Superior National Forest to mines
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump vowed to open large swaths of lands in Minnesota’s remote Superior National Forest to mining, a move that could benefit a copper/nickel mine being pursued by Antofagasta subsidiary Twin Metals Minnesota.
Speaking at a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, on Wednesday, Trump said his administration would soon be “taking the first steps” to rescind a move made in the final days of the Obama administration to put hundreds of thousands of acres in the national forest off limits to industry activity.
“America’s rich natural resources, of which your state has a lot, were put under lock and key,” Trump said. While he promised to proceed carefully and only if the the move “could pass muster,” he added “it is going to happen, I will tell you.”
Before leaving office, President Barack Obama moved to take about 234 000 acres (95 000 ha) in the Superior National Forest in far northern Minnesota off the table for exploration and other activities while a study was conducted on the environmental impact. The withdrawal requested a 20-year ban on industry activity, with a two-year moratorium to conduct the study.
The National Mining Association praised Trump’s announcement. It called Obama’s action “nothing more than a parting gift from the Obama administration to activists -- and one that was at odds with the residents, business and elected officials throughout the impacted communities.”
Doug Niemela, national campaign manager for environmental group Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, said Trump’s move would “irreparably damage the Boundary Waters and pollute some of the cleanest water in the world.”
Twin Metals didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation