Trump names NorthMet copper-nickel mine in Minnesota a federal priority

The Trump administration has put the NorthMet mine, a proposed massive open pit copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota, on a list of federally important mineral projects intended for speedier permitting.

It’s one of 20 mining projects the administration has highlighted since a March executive order and the only one in Minnesota.

The NorthMet mine, originally proposed by the company PolyMet, would extract ore in Babbitt, Minn., then ship the material for processing at the former LTV Steel site in Hoyt Lakes. It’s now owned by the group NewRange, who reported Friday it was pleased the mine is on the list.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March that directed officials to set an expedited permitting schedule for mining projects on the FAST-41 Transparency list. Permitting updates also will be published on a federal website.

“This is recognition the NorthMet project is critical to energy and national security,” said Colin Marsh, New Range’s director of external affairs. “This was not something we asked for, but we are very happy we are on this list.”

Asked whether permitting would move faster, Marsh said he didn’t think it will change the schedule. “We fully expect a full and rigorous review process,” he added in an email.

NewRange is a partnership between Glencore, a Swiss multinational mining company that also owned PolyMet, and the Canadian firm Teck Resources, which has been exploring minerals next to the NorthMet site.

Last August, NewRange said it was launching a yearlong study to re-design aspects of the NorthMet mine after setbacks for three major permits.

Chris Knopf, executive director of environmental group Friends of the Boundary Waters, said Friday that the decision was a disaster, noting several permitting issues the project had already faced. Two state permits are being reconsidered now for potential water pollution issues.

“You’re trying to take a train that’s off the tracks, [and] put it back on the tracks and have the train go faster? It’s just ridiculous,” Knopf said.

Environmental advocates argue that projects like NorthMet risk toxic mine drainage. Sulfide minerals that contain valuable metals can cause contamination once that rock is excavated and exposed to the elements.

Mining advocates have pointed to the possibility of new jobs on the Iron Range and the need to extract metals in the United States for clean energy projects.

The NorthMet project lacks only one federal permit, for wetland destruction. In 2023, the Army Corps of Engineers concluded that the mine plan would violate water quality standards for the downstream Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and scuttled the permit.

NewRange has not yet re-applied, Marsh said, but the company plans to later this year.

Trump has repeatedly signaled his support for new mining projects in northern Minnesota, though he mostly has spoken publicly about the Twin Metals project, which would extract copper and nickel from inside the Superior National Forest. That proposed mine sits in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, while NorthMet would be dug in an area where water flows towards Lake Superior.

Twin Metals lost its mineral leases under the former Biden administration, an action Trump has repeatedly promised to reverse.