Overview
- Lawmakers approved H.J. Res. 140 in a 214–208 vote, sending the measure targeting 225,504 acres in the Superior National Forest to the Senate.
- The resolution, advanced under the CRA, would nullify the 20-year withdrawal and bar future administrations from issuing a substantially similar action.
- Backers cite jobs, domestic supply chains and national security tied to copper, nickel and cobalt in the Duluth Complex, while opponents warn of acid drainage risks to the Boundary Waters watershed.
- The vote split largely along party lines, with Democrat Jared Golden supporting the measure and Republican Don Bacon opposing it.
- If enacted, Twin Metals—an Antofagasta subsidiary—could seek reissued leases and permits, though any mine would still face state and federal environmental review.