Trump Signs Mining Bill to Reopen Minnesota's Mineral Lands
In 2007, Minnesota passed the Next Generation Energy Act, requiring an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2050 while maintaining reliable and affordable energy.
In 2023, the state updated its goals to align with the Climate Action Framework, targeting a 50% emissions reduction by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
However, US President Donald Trump has signed H.J. Res. 140 into law.
The resolution marks a major policy shift for mineral development in northern Minnesota.
It reopens debate around resource development, environmental review and long-term sustainability.
Policy shift and mining potential
The resolution was led by Pete Stauber and overturns the Biden administration’s withdrawal of 225,504 acres of land in the Superior National Forest from mineral exploration and development.
The Duluth Complex in northern Minnesota is a world-class mineral deposit containing nearly 7.3 billion tonnes of critical minerals.
If developed, this region could constitute 95% of America’s nickel reserves, 88% of America’s cobalt reserves, one-third of America’s copper reserves and 75% of US platinum-group resources.
In accordance with the Congressional Review Act, H.J. Res. 140 will eliminate PLO 7917 and prevent any similar action in the future.
- According to Congress, "This joint resolution nullifies Public Land Order 7917, which withdrew approximately 225,504 acres of National Forest System lands in Cook, Lake and Saint Louis Counties, Minnesota, from mineral and geothermal leasing for 20 years."
The resolution passed the US House of Representatives on 21 January 2026 and the US Senate on 16 April 2026.
With President Trump’s signature, the Biden administration’s 20-year mining ban in the Superior National Forest is officially overturned.
“It is a great week for American mining,” says Bruce Westerman, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman, in an official press release.
“By unlocking the mineral-rich lands of the Duluth Complex, America may access large deposits of the minerals that power the 21st Century.
“I commend Representative Stauber for his commitment over the past 4 years to overturn the Biden administration’s misguided mineral withdrawal.
“I also want to thank President Trump for signing this resolution to unleash domestic mining, support our mining workforce and bring mineral dominance to America.”
Environmental review and sustainability
In January 2022, the Biden administration canceled two decades-old mineral leases held by Twin Metals Minnesota.
Public Land Order (PLO 7917), signed in January 2023 by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, withdrew 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest from federal mineral leasing for 20 years.
The Biden administration’s actions shunned years of environmental review, a pending Mine Plan of Operations and myriad comments and letters from Members of Congress, local communities, mineral developers and union workers overwhelmingly supportive of the Twin Metals project.
“It’s official. The illegal mining ban put in place by former President Biden has been overturned indefinitely, ending a reckless policy that sidelined Minnesota’s miners and undermined our nation's ability to source our own materials,” says Pete Stauber, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, in an official statement.
“Never again will any Democrat President be able to unilaterally ban mining in this strategic area of the Superior National Forest.
“Now, proposed mining projects aimed at unlocking trillions of dollars’ worth of critical minerals can move forward through the proper state and federal environmental review and permitting process.
“President Trump is the most pro-mining President in American history, and I thank him for his support in championing Minnesota’s union miners and workers.
“As the result of our shared commitment to American mineral dominance, Minnesota’s mighty Iron Range has a strong future ahead.
“It’s back at the center of a powerful economic comeback with another century's worth of mining, and I'm proud to have delivered this hard-fought victory for our state and nation.”
Notably, rescinding the withdrawal itself would not mandate the project but would simply allow the environmental review process to run its course, leaving sustainability considerations tied to that process.
Biden’s 2022 mineral lease
In January 2022, the Department of the Interior canceled two hardrock mineral leases adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota.
The action followed a legal determination that the leases, held by Twin Metals Minnesota, were improperly renewed by the Department in 2019.
“The Department of the Interior takes seriously our obligations to steward public lands and waters on behalf of all Americans. We must be consistent in how we apply lease terms to ensure that no lessee receives special treatment,” said Secretary Deb Haaland at the time.
“After a careful legal review, we found the leases were improperly renewed in violation of applicable statutes and regulations and we are taking action to cancel them.”
However, a new legal opinion from the Interior Department’s Office of Solicitor identified significant legal deficiencies in the 2019 renewal, including that the lease renewal forms contravened Department regulations, the Department did not duly recognise the U.S. Forest Service’s consent authority and the environmental analysis failed to include a no-renewal, no-action alternative.
As a result, the Interior Department has canceled the two leases.
No mineral production has occurred on either lease since the original issuance in 1966.
The Bureau of Land Management manages the mineral deposits in the Superior National Forest, while the U.S. Forest Service previously withheld consent to renewal in 2016 due to risks of environmental contamination in the watershed.
