Walz blocks Minnesota copper and nickel mining, defying Trump and drawing fire over China supply chain risk
The race to secure domestic critical mineral supply has hit a state-level obstacle in the American Midwest. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order Tuesday blocking mining permits and leases near the Boundary Waters…
Key takeaways
- Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order Tuesday blocking mining permits and leases near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeast Minnesota.
- The order directly contradicts federal legislation President Donald Trump signed in April, which had reversed a Biden administration order blocking new mining leases near the Boundary Waters for twenty years.
- Walz's order targets the Duluth Complex, identified as the largest known untapped source of nickel and copper in North America, metals used in EV components, military equipment, electronics, and boat manufacturing.
- House Majority Whip Tom Emmer called the order "stupid" and "dangerous," warning it makes the U.S. more dependent on adversaries like China for energy and mineral supply.
- Environmental groups backing the order argue that mining in the buffer zone still risks contaminating the protected Boundary Waters area.
The race to secure domestic critical mineral supply has hit a state-level obstacle in the American Midwest. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order Tuesday blocking mining permits and leases near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeast Minnesota, directly contradicting federal legislation President Donald Trump signed in April.
That April law reversed a Biden administration order that had blocked new mining leases near the Boundary Waters for twenty years. Walz's counter-move targets the Duluth Complex in northeastern Minnesota, identified as the largest known untapped source of nickel and copper in North America. Both metals feed into electric vehicle components, military equipment, commercial electronics, and boat manufacturing, making the read-through for cross-border supply chains direct.
The strategic fault line
Against the backdrop of Republican concern about China's role in the global critical minerals market, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, the highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress, called the order "stupid" and "dangerous." Emmer warned the move makes the country more dependent on adversaries for energy and mineral supply. "This lame duck loser is trying to make us more energy and mineral-dependent on our adversaries," he told Fox News Digital, adding that it would harm union jobs in northern Minnesota and increase national defense risk. The federal legislation that originally cleared the way for mining near the Boundary Waters was led by Representative Pete Stauber, also a Minnesota Republican. Emmer argued that leaving the Duluth Complex untapped hands China's metal mining industry a sector-wide advantage the United States cannot afford.
Mining inside the Boundary Waters is already prohibited by existing law. Environmental groups backing Walz's order argue that extraction in the surrounding buffer zone still risks contaminating the protected inner area. Save The Boundary Waters executive director Ingrid Lyons praised the governor's action as a defense of protections built over years with input from hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans, and called on the state legislature to make those protections permanent.
Emmer dismissed environmental concerns as a "false argument," contending that American mines operate under stricter environmental standards than overseas competitors and that blocking domestic extraction shifts the burden to countries with fewer safeguards. Walz's office had not responded to Fox News Digital's request for comment at the time of publication.
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