By Ernest Scheyder
April 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to overturn former President Joe Biden's mining ban in northern Minnesota, agreeing with the House of Representatives and sending the bill to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it.
The move reverses Biden's 20-year block on mining across 225,504 minerals-rich acres (91,200 hectares) in the Superior National Forest and gives a major boost to Antofagasta's Twin Metals copper, cobalt and nickel project, as well
as other proposed mines in the region bordering Canada.
Environmentalists have long worried that the mine could damage the water-rich region, which is visited by more than 200,000 hikers and canoeists each year. Miners have said they believe minerals can be extracted safely.
The Senate voted 51-49 to send the measure to Trump, who campaigned in 2024 on overturning the ban. The House approved the bill in January.
Should Trump sign the bill, a future president could not replicate Biden's ban because of a provision in the 1996 Congressional Review Act. The White House was not immediately available to comment.
Reuters first reported in January that Trump officials and legislators had launched a complex plan to reverse the ban using the novel claim that Biden had not properly informed Congress, a claim that conservationists have rejected.
Trump officials would still need to reissue mining leases to Chile-focused Antofagasta, which has been trying to develop the mine for decades on land controlled by the federal government. The mine would also need to undergo an environmental review and obtain permits.
MINERALS DEMAND CLASHES WITH CONSERVATION
Thursday's vote is almost certain to escalate tension over where and how to procure minerals crucial for the electrified economy and national defense.
Copper, nickel and cobalt are used to build electric vehicles, AI data centers, weapons and myriad other devices, yet the U.S. imports far more of these minerals than it produces.
Congressman Pete Stauber, a Republican who represents northern Minnesota and sponsored the legislation, called Thursday's vote a "major victory for America" and said it "simply returns the decision (on whether to mine) to established permitting processes, where science, not politics, guides the outcome."
Save the Boundary Waters, a conservation group, called the vote "a dark day for America's most beloved wilderness area" and vowed to fight the project.
"Minnesotans and the American public writ large have been loud and clear: this iconic place needs to be protected," said Ingrid Lyons, the group's executive director.
Earthjustice, The Wilderness Society, the Center for Western Priorities, Friends of the Boundary Water Wilderness and other conservation groups echoed their disapproval of the Senate's vote, which was largely along party lines.
Antofagasta's Twin Metals subsidiary said the bill's passage reflects a "critical moment for our nation's ability to strengthen our mineral supply chains."
"The Twin Metals team looks forward to a robust discussion and engagement with our communities through any future regulatory processes," said spokeswoman Kathy Graul.
Antofagasta has said it likely will export the mine's critical minerals for processing overseas.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
