The Department of the Interior U.S canceled two lease contracts for the Twin Metals copper and nickel mine, proposed by Antofagasta Plc. in the state of Minnesota, effectively nullifying the project and handing an important victory to environmentalists.
The decision shows that the President’s government Joe Biden it feels increasingly comfortable prioritizing conservation efforts, even as demand for minerals for making electric vehicles has continued to rise.
Leases for the proposed mine in northern Minnesota had first been withdrawn by then-President Barack Obama in 2016, but the Trump administration reversed that decision.
Biden officials said Wednesday that Trump was wrong to return the leases.
“We found that the leases were improperly renewed in violation of applicable statutes and regulations, and we are taking steps to cancel them,” US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said, adding that her department has a responsibility to “ensure that no tenant receives special treatment.
Twin Metals, controlled by Chile’s Antofagasta, said it believes the decision was based on politics and not science.
“We will contest this attempt to stop our project and defend our valid mining rights. We hope to prevail,” Twin Metals spokeswoman Kathy Graul said.
The move came on top of a plan announced last fall by the White House to impose a 20-year ban on mining in the Boundary Waters region of Minnesota, where Antofagasta hopes to build an underground mine to supply copper for electric vehicles. , which use twice the red metal as internal combustion engines.
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