MINNEAPOLIS _ Twin Metals Minnesota fired back against the federal government Monday with a lawsuit saying regulators lack the authority to deny it access to copper ore deposits next to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota.
The federal government is considering whether or not to renew Twin Metals' mineral leases for a fiercely contested proposed copper-nickel mine on the Kawishiwi River on the edge of the Boundary Waters. In February, federal regulators announced they would not automatically renew the leases as they have before _ a step that echoed concerns of Gov. Mark Dayton and could prove fatal to the mining plan.
Instead, they took the unusual step of asking for public comment on whether mining is in the best interest of the Superior National Forest. In the coming months it is expected to announce a decision on whether it will renew the leases or launch a longer environmental review.
In a statement released Monday, Twin Metals, a subsidiary of the international mining conglomerate Antofagasta, said, "An essential component of Twin Metals' mineral rights is its entitlement to non-discretionary renewal of these leases. The government has long recognized this renewal right."
Casting a cloud of uncertainty over the project, "makes it impossible for Twin Metals to engage in any long-term planning, investment, development, and operational decisions, effectively thwarting any development of the mineral estate; materially harming the future mining project; and jeopardizing Twin Metals' $400 million investment to date," the company said.
Moreover, the company said, the federal government's action "appears to be motivated by political pressure and unsupported allegations about potential impacts of future mining development in the region."
Federal officials could not immediately be reached for comment Monday morning.
Becky Rom, head of a conservation group called the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, said Twin Metals has acknowledged in its own internal documents that the federal government has the right to deny mineral leases.
"(Its) authority to renew or deny renewal based on science and proximity to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is absolutely clear," Rom said.
The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, which jointly regulate mineral development on federal lands, decided not to renew the leases after Dayton came down on the side of environmentalists by denying Twin Metals crucial access to state lands for developing the mine. In a letter to Twin Metals early this year, Dayton said he had grave concerns about long-term pollution threats to Minnesota's cherished northern wilderness,
Unlike taconite mining, copper mining produces waste rock that can create an acid that leaches heavy metals and other pollutants from rock, a major risk in an area known for its many lakes, rivers and wetlands.
Twin Metals' project is one of two proposed copper-nickel mines under review for northeast Minnesota. PolyMet Mining Company has completed an environmental review and is applying for permits for an open pit mine about 20 miles to the southeast of Twin Metals. In contrast to the underground mine proposed by Twin Metals, Polymet's would drain into the St. Louis River watershed and into Lake Superior.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, names as defendants the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, and Solicitor of the Interior Hilary Tompkins
