The Biden administration has announced that it will impose a 20-year mining moratorium on thousands of acres of land in Minnesota by citing the need to protect the natural environment, potentially dealing a blow to Twin Metals, a major mining firm with interests in the region. The move has attracted criticism from mining associations and lawmakers who insist that mining is necessary for the country’s mineral security.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed Public Land Order 7917, which withdraws roughly 225,504 acres of land in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota from mineral leasing, according to a Jan. 26th press release from the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI).
