BIRCH LAKE – They can keep looking for copper, nickel, and other precious metals.

That was the message from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to officials at Twin Metals Minnesota Monday, Dec. 29. The message follows a November request from Franconia Minerals, a subsidiary of Twin Metals, to the DNR to continue exploratory drilling for precious metals and other minerals near Birch Lake, not far from the BWCA Wilderness. The key word in the approval of the plan this week is “exploratory.” It does not mean an actual mine has been approved by any regulatory agency.

The go-ahead this week means Twin Metals (Franconia) can explore state and private land adjoining Birch Lake, about 12 miles outside of Ely near Highway 1. The approval of the plans means Twin Metals can collect data on mineral content and ore grades at up to 19 drill sites. This information can help develop a future mining complex, according to Twin Metals officials.

“Exploration is not the same as mining,” said Twin Metals spokesperson Kathy Graul in a statement she sent to Paddle & Portage Media Dec. 30. “It is an exercise in gathering data about the size, scope, geometry, depth and metal content of our minerals, which lie deep underground.”

Core samples taken by Twin Metals near Birch Lake. Submitted photo

Meanwhile, as has been well-documented and ongoing for over a decade, environmentalists and other groups continue to oppose the plan to put a mine near the edge of the most visited wilderness area in the nation. The approval of a mining exploration plan did nothing to settle the unrest some organizations and BWCA paddlers have about a mine on the edge of canoe country.

“At a time when the Boundary Waters faces enormous threats from the Trump administration in Washington D.C.,” said Chris Knopf, executive director of Friends of the Boundary Waters, “Governor Walz’s DNR capitulated to foreign mining interests by approving exploratory drilling at the edge of the wilderness. Despite having clear legal authority to deny this permit, and despite overwhelming opposition from Minnesotans, the Walz administration is holding the door open to this toxic industry.”

Graul, meanwhile, said Twin Metals Minnesota’s upcoming exploration program builds on a long history of successful and safe mineral exploration activities in northeast Minnesota.

“Exploration is fundamental to mapping out the characteristics of our mineral deposits,” she said, “and it helps the state of Minnesota better understand its resources.”

Paddling the BWCA. P&P file photo by Bryan Hansel

The debate over whether to build a precious metals mine just outside the BWCA Wilderness has dragged on in Ely, Grand Marais, Minneapolis and beyond for a decade, with both sides (supporters of the mine and those opposed) claiming to know what’s best for the local economies and the health of the planet. For example, groups like the Friends and the Save the Boundary Waters Campaign argue that putting a copper-nickel mine near the edge of the BWCA Wilderness is bound to destroy some of the purest water on the planet. Twin Metals, meanwhile, says the planet will benefit from extracting rich deposits of minerals critical to build green infrastructure and to put more electric vehicles on America’s roadways.

The debate will go on in 2026 and is likely to continue for many years to come.

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