Copper Nickel Mining

Stauber, state officials and local mayors voiced their opposition at a press conference Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.

The Babbitt mine and Hoyt Lakes processing plant is expected to impact about 1,100 acres of wetlands, according to the company's permit application.

Walz is instructing the DNR not to grant permits. This move bears a strong risk of litigation over Twin Metals, which wants to extract copper, nickel, cobalt and other valuable metals from underground veins.

The meeting was an early step in the environmental review process required by state law for any proposed mines in Minnesota.

NorthMet, formerly owned by PolyMet and now controlled by NewRange Copper Nickel, is one of three proposed copper-nickel mines in Minnesota. A reworked project plan is now before the DNR.

The walk on July 25, 2026, spanned 13 miles from Big Sandy Lake in McGregor to Tamarack, with women taking turns carrying a bucket of water.

The proposed mine would primarily focus on nickel and copper. It is the first underground mine proposal in Minnesota to reach the public review process.

Reclaiming Critical Metals is an Iron Range startup working to create jobs and reduce landfills by recycling e-waste and recovering metals like copper, gold and silver.

Discussions around Tamarack echo themes playing out for a Twin Metals’ copper-nickel proposal near the Boundary Waters, which in April cleared a key federal hurdle in the U.S. Senate.

The Senate's 50-49 vote on April 16, 2026, reverses a 20-year mining ban in the Superior National Forest in the Rainy River watershed, within which the BWCAW is located.