Sulfide Mining & Voyageurs National Park

Protecting Our Pristine Waters

Voyageurs National Park encompasses more than 84,000 acres of water! These waters are home to loons, snapping turtles and wood frogs, otters, and 53 species of fish, including lake sturgeon, walleye, and smallmouth bass. These native species rely on clean water to thrive. The 240,000 people who visit Voyageurs each year enjoy kayaking, swimming, boating, and world-class fishing. These visitors contribute more than $19 million to the local economy and support 301 jobs annually.

But the lakes and rivers of Voyageurs National Park are at risk from proposed copper-nickel sulfide mining projects in the Rainy River Watershed.

THE THREAT
Recent proposals to mine copper, gold and nickel in the sulfide ore deposits of Northern Minnesota represent a significant threat to Voyageurs. This type of mining is unlike taconite mining; the process to extract these metals from sulfide ore deposits produces sulfuric acid and other contaminants. When sulfide ore is exposed to water and air, it produces sulfuric acid. This acid, which drains from the mine’s waste rock, can create long-lasting water pollution harming people, plants, fish and wildlife.

Pollution from the mines can also send toxic heavy metals downstream, such as mercury and sulfates. This phenomenon has been well-documented at mining operations throughout the U.S. and worldwide. Corporations are exploring a number of sulfide-ore deposits in the watersheds draining into Voyageurs National Park.

““Voyageurs is at the downstream end of its watershed, so everything entering the watershed passes through it before reaching Canada. Mercury contamination, leaching of arsenic, or other acid mine drainage will pass through the park.””

— Tom Myers, PhD, Hydrologist

Independent scientific studies confirm that sulfide-ore copper mining on lands adjacent to rivers and lakes that flow into the Boundary Waters and into Voyageurs National Park and Ontario’s Quetico Provincial Park would seriously harm the Wilderness and the Parks as well as the lands and waters on which mining activity occurs.

Even small amounts of acid mine contamination leaking into the Rainy River Drainage Basin would impact Voyageurs’ ecosystem for decades and threaten its pristine waters and wildlife, world-class fishing, and the family-owned small businesses that serve park visitors.

The risks associated with copper, nickel and other sulfide mining operations exist during all phases of mine development, implementation, closure and long-term remediation. Potential impacts to water resources include changes in water quantity and quality, contamination from acid mine drainage and seepage, and tailings basin failures. In addition there would be cumulative impacts with several projects being explored in Northern Minnesota.

To date, not a single sulfide mining project has operated and closed without producing polluted drainage.

With two copper-nickel sulfide mining projects in progress in northeastern Minnesota, Voyageurs National Park Association stands opposed to proposed sulfide-ore copper mining. This type of mining has unacceptable health and environmental risks in such a water-rich area and poses a serious threat to our waters and to the ecosystems of the Rainy River Watershed.

Give to Protect Clean Water

timeline

2015

Voyageurs Conservancy and the National Parks Conservation Association commission a hydrology study to document the risks to Voyageurs National Park if sulfide mining development occurs in the Rainy River Watershed.

2016

The U.S. Forest Service concluded the potential risk posed by a sulfide mine within the same watershed as the BWCAW was unacceptable, as it might cause irreparable harm to a unique wilderness area. Twin Metals’ application for lease renewal was denied and the leases expired.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, began a study to consider whether to place a 20-year moratorium on any copper-sulfide mining on 234,000 acres adjacent to the Boundary Waters. The study area encompassed the location of the proposed Twin Metals mine.

2018-2019

The Federal Administration downgraded and abruptly canceled the study that would assess the impacts of sulfide mining on the Rainy River Watershed. In doing so, they also cancelled the process to evaluate whether there should be a 20-year mineral withdrawal on a large portion of the Superior National Forest. Voyageurs Conservancy maintains that a full two-year Environmental Impact Statement of the proposed withdrawal is essential to allow federal agencies and the public to examine scientific findings thoroughly to determine whether copper-nickel mining should be allowed in this watershed.
The U.S. Department of Interior illegally renewed two Twin Metals Minnesota LLC-held hardrock mineral leases, allowing its use of public lands in perpetuity.
The Administration refused countless demands from the public, Congress, and the press to release the study and background reports. Representative Betty McCollum introduced legislation to restart the study that was abruptly cancelled 20 months into its 24 month completion period.
Twin Metals announced that it will be using dry stacking instead of tailing ponds for its mine's toxic waste.

2020

The U.S. Forest Service denies Minnesota’s request for the research from the aborted federal study about the impacts of copper mining on the Superior National Forest.
The federal administration finalizes changes to the Clean Water Act that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) says will prevent the state from protecting Minnesota waters from a Twin Metals mine.
Citing the Coronavirus pandemic, the president signs an Executive Order instructing federal agencies to waive long-standing environmental laws making it easier to expedite harmful projects.
Several lawsuits led by partners continue to challenge the renewal of the Twin Metals leases. On June 24, the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters filed a lawsuit asking a Minnesota state district court judge to direct the Minnesota DN) to amend state rules to protect the Boundary Waters region from the damage that would inevitably result from nearby sulfide-ore copper mining. Specifically, they request that the rules be amended to ban sulfide-ore copper mining in the entirety of the Rainy River-Headwaters.
On June 15, Minnesota DNR announces Twin Metals’ initial mine plan is incomplete, providing 800 comments. There is no deadline for Twin Metals to respond to the comments.
On June 29, the Bureau of Land Management published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register to proceed with scoping and preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Twin Metals project.

A Watershed Report

Findings from a 2015 study commissioned by Voyageurs Conservancy and the National Parks Conservation Association document risks to Voyageurs National Park:

Report Summary: A Watershed Moment (PDF)
Full Report: Potential Metals Mining and Voyageurs National Park, Tom Myers, PhD (PDF) - Map: Voyageurs Watershed
Rainy River Watershed water flow map

I want to protect our waters

Voyageurs Conservancy is committed to ensuring that our National Park remains protected for its surrounding communities, park visitors and future generations. The effects of acid mine drainage from sulfide (copper-nickel) mining in our watershed leave the potential for permanent damage to Voyageurs National Park’s waters and wildlife. The Conservancy is carefully monitoring this issue and the potential impacts to Voyageurs.

Voyageurs Conservancy is a member organization of the Campaign the Save the Boundary Waters, a coalition dedicated to creating a national movement to protect the clean water, clean air and forest landscape of our watershed from toxic pollution caused by mining copper, nickel and other metals from sulfide-bearing ore. Voyageurs National Park Association would like to thank the National Parks Conservation Association, the Quetico Superior Foundation, and the Rainy Lake Conservancy for their support of this effort.