TAKE ACTION: Stop Congress from selling out the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs National Park & Antofagasta fined for non-compliance 13APR&26JAN26

 THE greedy, corrupt drumpf / trump-vance administration and the gop / greed over protecting parks-republican party controlling congress is still attempting to grant carte blanche to  antofagasta / twin metals, a Chilean company with a poor environmental record for a toxic copper-nickel mine that WILL pollute the Boundary Waters Canoe Waters Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park, WILL leave the cost of cleanup for the American taxpayers, WILL create jobs at Chinese smelters and WILL be sold on the world market, adding to antofagasta's / twin metal's profits. PLEASE contact your senators and tell them to stop HJ 140, this mine must not be approved. From EarthJustice and Save The Boundary Waters. My e mails are at the end of this post.....

Corporate polluters are taking aim at one of North America’s most treasured landscapes. TAKE ACTION   One of America’s most visited wilderness areas is facing a full-on assault by the mining industry’s allies in Congress. If corporate polluters get their way, a 20-year mining ban protecting the Boundary Waters watershed from toxic copper mining will be overturned. Write to your senators now to oppose this dangerous resolution. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota is a vast network of over 1,000 lakes and unspoiled forests stretching across more than one million acres. Generations of visitors have canoed, camped, and hiked along the area’s 1,200 miles of rivers and streams. It’s also just upstream of where Chilean mining giant Antofagasta wants to build the toxic Twin Metals copper-nickel mine. If built, the Twin Metals mine could mean the permanent destruction of habitat for hundreds of species like wolves, moose, loons, lynx, and walleye. As climate change shrinks our planet’s biodiversity, we can’t afford to lose the Boundary Waters — or the thousands of jobs it sustains for the region’s outdoor tourism economy. For years, conservationists, hunters, anglers, small business owners, and local residents have fought to protect this precious wilderness. Now, members of Congress are trying to gut those protections, using a questionable maneuver that bypasses the normal democratic process and ignores the voices of Americans. If this resolution passes, it will mean prioritizing the profits of a Chilean mining company over our beloved public lands. Amid the attacks on Minnesota’s residents and clean waters, our partners continue to remind us that the Boundary Waters and all our public lands are worth fighting for. Remind your senators that they work for their constituents and not corporations. We must keep protections for the Boundary Waters in place. TAKE ACTION   Sincerely, Blaine Miller-McFeeley Senior Legislative Representative

Thank you for your support of Earthjustice $2:$1 MATCH: DONATE NOW   Earthjustice, 180 Steuart St. #194330, San Francisco, CA 94105-5741 About Us  Delivered to you by Earthjustice. Your support makes the difference. Photo Credits: Canoeing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern Minnesota. (Brad Zweerink / Earthjustice) © 2025

Antofagasta fined for non-compliance

Three year anniversary of 20-year mining ban 

Today is the 3-year anniversary of the 20-year mining ban on lands upstream of the Boundary Waters. On January 26, 2023, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed  Public Land Order 7917, which bans sulfide-ore copper mining on 225,504 acres of Superior National Forest land upstream of the Boundary Waters. This was a historic win for the Boundary Waters and those who seek to protect it.

However, earlier this month, Rep. Pete Stauber introduced a Joint Resolution that uses the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the 20-year Boundary Waters mining ban. This maneuver is an unprecedented attempt to overturn a Mineral Withdrawal using the CRA. Ultimately, if successful, this move would pave the way for Twin Metals, a Chilean-owned company, to proceed with its mining leases to build a copper mine on Birch Lake near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Pollution from this mine would flow directly into the Wilderness, impacting all downstream landscapes, including Quetico Provincial Park and Voyageurs National Park. Joint Resolution (H.J. 140) passed through the House Rules Committee on January 20 and the House floor on January 21. This bill now moves to the Senate. 

 Contact your Senators now

 

Antofagasta fined for non-compliance 

Proponents of this mine say they will use the “best technology” and “follow Minnesota’s strict environmental standards.” Yet, on Friday, January 23, the Chilean mining giant Antofagasta Minerals was fined about $775,000 for failing to comply with regulations at its Centinela copper mine. 

Antofagasta is the parent company of Twin Metals, the company trying to open a toxic copper-nickel mine next to America’s most visited Wilderness. Antofagasta Chile’s environmental regulator said “the company did not keep proper track of water resources and did not follow the monitoring rules outlined in the ‘El Tesoro’ project's environmental impact study and an additional monitoring plan.” 

And let’s be clear, no copper mining has ever been conducted in Minnesota, and has never been done safely. A recent study of copper mines analyzes eight operating mines alongside two proposed mines in Northeastern Minnesota. The study found that even under today’s mining regulations, all eight hardrock mines across the United States are consistently polluting rivers, lakes, and groundwater.

Antofagasta also has a history of pollution and dishonesty, for example:

• Antofagasta's mine in Chile cut off the flow of the nearby waterway, robbing a town of fresh water and endangering the residents. Even after villagers won a lawsuit against the company and the Chilean Supreme Court ordered the removal of the mining dam, Antofagasta used its power to defeat the villagers and keep its controversial mining dam in place — cutting off the water from the people. [1]
• Antofagasta has been implicated in a number of bribery and corruption scandals. [2]
• They’ve spent over $1 million lobbying Congress to secure mining leases, prioritizing profits over pristine waters.

The ore would also likely be shipped to China for smelting and processing, as the US has limited smelter capacity, and be sold on the world market. This is why we cannot let a foreign-owned mining company mine next to America’s most visited Wilderness.

 

What’s next?

Next, the resolution moves to the Senate, where:

1. The Senate Parliamentarian will rule on whether the CRA can be used to challenge mineral withdrawals.
2. The full Senate will vote on the resolution.
3. If the resolution passes and is signed by the President, the 20-year mining ban will be overturned.
4. This paves the way for the Administration to issue mineral leases in the Boundary Waters watershed.

What you can do: Contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to oppose this resolution. We need calls coming in from across the country. We also encourage you to share 

 

Contact your Senators now

 

More resources:

Bill passed House to overturn Mining ban near Boundary Waters | Save the Boundary Waters 
Understanding 20-Year Federal Protections and What’s Next | Save the Boundary Waters
Antofagasta: The Chilean mining giant rushing to ruin the Boundary Waters | Savethe Boundary Waters
Chilean regulator fines Antofagasta's Centinela copper mine for non-compliance | Reuters

1. Brook, J. (2021, August 30). In foothills of Chilean Andes, a mining dam set off a years-long battle with residents. Miami Herald.
2. Reuters (2015, February 10). Chilean president’s family caught up in loan scandal. Reuters.com.

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MY E MAILS TO SEN WARNER D-VA & SEN TIM KAINE D-VA

I’m reaching out as your constituent to ask that you protect the nation’s most visited wilderness area, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota, from permanent and irreversible mining pollution. 

The Boundary Waters and downstream Voyageurs National Park are currently protected by Public Land Order 7917, the 20-year mineral withdrawal banning copper mining on federal public lands in the headwaters of these beloved wild lands. This mineral withdrawal was based on the U.S. Forest Service’s comprehensive environmental assessment, which concluded that sulfide-ore copper mining near the Boundary Waters would cause irreversible harm to the ecosystem and downstream Voyageurs National Park. The analysis completed by the Forest Service in 2022 included 675,000 public comments from across the country, over 95% of which favored protecting the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs from sulfide-ore copper mining.  

In early January, a resolution to overturn this Public Land Order (7917) under the Congressional Review Act was introduced despite public land orders having never been deemed a rule subject to the CRA. Instead, public land orders are dictated by the Federal Land Management and Policy Act of 1976, and all procedures under that statute were followed. I ask you to vote no on H.R. Res. 140, which would blatantly ignore the voices of the American people and prioritize the profits of a foreign mining company.  

Twin Metals is a Chilean-owned mine that would ship its product abroad to be processed and sold offshore. Studies consistently show that protecting the Boundary Waters generates stronger and more sustainable economic benefits than short term and toxic sulfide-ore copper mining. Allowing copper mining to proceed in this watershed risks killing the outdoor recreation economy in northeastern Minnesota, which supports over 17,000 jobs and contributes more than $1 billion in annual sales. 

Each year, more than 150,000 people travel to the Boundary Waters to canoe in the summer and go dog sledding and ice fishing in the winter. It contains over a million acres and more than 1,000 lakes, and its expanse is dotted with hundreds of miles of hiking trails and designated campsites. For generations, this place has offered Midwesterners and Americans across the country the opportunity for world-class recreation and fostered a deep connection to nature. 

 America’s Canoe Country – the Boundary Waters and adjoining Voyageurs National Park – exemplify the best of our nation’s heritage. These areas must remain protected so that future generations can access and enjoy them.  

Please vote against this joint resolution and do not sell out our wilderness to Chilean mining giant Antofagasta against the will of Minnesotans and Americans who want our public lands preserved. 

Thank you for considering this important request.