SW Arkansas Times

On August 28, 2024, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), and Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Chairman Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning. The letter requested explanations regarding the administration's decision to restrict access to mineral deposits in and around the Superior National Forest.

The letter stated: "The Committee sent the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management two previous letters—on November 20, 2023, and January 8, 2024—to which we received inadequate responses.

"For example, the Committee received no explanation of how canceling the Twin Metals leases or withdrawing hundreds of thousands of acres of mineral-rich lands from exploration and development supports reducing our nation’s dependence on minerals sourced from foreign adversaries. … Worse yet, the Committee received no evidence that either the DOI or BLM considered the economic or practical impact on businesses in Northern Minnesota before choosing to obstruct mineral production there."

Northeast Minnesota hosts one of the world's largest known undeveloped copper-nickel deposits. The Biden-Harris administration’s decision to halt development is viewed as an effort to limit access to domestic raw materials essential for daily life and national security.

The Twin Metals mine project aimed to utilize significant domestic supplies of minerals such as copper, vital for renewable energy technologies, computer systems, defense applications, and household products.

This letter marks the third request from the House Committee on Natural Resources for information about this mineral withdrawal and lease cancellation. Previous communications were sent in November 2023 and January 2024. Additionally, a legislative hearing was held in May 2023 concerning H.Con.Res.34, introduced by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), expressing congressional disapproval for the withdrawal. H.Con.Res.34 passed in April 2024.