Department of Interior Releases Legal Opinion That Could Help Twin Metals Gain Leases Upstream From The BWCA
August 7, 2025 11:23 amThe Deputy Secretary of the Interior, Katharine MacGregor, has reinstated a legal opinion from 2017 with a key interpretation that will have a significant impact on Twin Metal’s plan to mine for non-ferrous minerals in the Rainy River Watershed.
Twin Metals Minnesota has been working to permit a copper-nickel mine southeast of Ely, Minnesota, just upstream from the Boundary Waters, over the course of several presidential administrations. Their initial lease stipulated that they were entitled to three, 10-year renewals, with the caveat that they must begin production within 20 years. When Twin Metals applied for a third renewal in 2016, the BLM under President Barack Obama denied the renewal.
Later, in 2017, during President Donald Trump’s first term, a legal opinion was released by then-Department of Interior Solicitor Daniel Jorjani that essentially reversed the 2016 opinion, citing that the Bureau of Land Management does not have the jurisdiction to deny lease renewals. This led to the Trump administration’s rescinding of the BLM decision and the return of Twin Metal’s leases.
In a ping-pong fashion, another legal opinion was released in 2022 under President Joe Biden’s administration that rescinded the Jorgani opinion. Now, as of August 2025, the Jorjani opinion has been re-adopted. This essentially means that Twin Metals Minnesota is entitled to a lease renewal.
Of note: The MacGregor letter released on July 17th states: On January 25, 2022, Principal Deputy Solicitor Ann Marie Bledsoe Downes issued a legal opinion, M-37072 (Bledsoe Downes M-Opinion), which concluded that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had improperly renewed Twin Metals Minnesota’s mineral leases in violation of certain statutory and regulatory authorities, and that those leases were therefore subject to cancellation.
I revoke M-37072 (2022 – Bledsoe), thereby reinstating M-37049 (Jorgani), based on my authority in the Departmental Manual to overrule or modify M-Opinions. All Bureaus/Offices are directed to consider the Jorjani M-Opinion, M-37049, as authoritative and binding on the Department of the Interior.
While Twin Metals does NOT currently have leases in hand, this legal opinion opens the door for the company to seek leases in the near future. This is just one of the pieces at the federal level that will have to come into place for Twin Metals to begin mining. With the current 20-year mining moratorium in place on over 225,000 acres in the Superior National Forest, the renewal of leases would be relatively useless. However, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum fully intend to remove that moratorium.
If the moratorium is overturned and mining leases are renewed, Twin Metals must then submit a Mine Plan of Operations (MPO), detailing the project and how the company will handle potential pollution, mine waste, and infrastructure in the water-rich environment of Northeast Minnesota. Along with submitting these mine plans, Twin Metals must also seek additional state and federal permits. If the mine plans do not meet environmental standards or pose too significant a risk to the Boundary Waters and the surrounding regions’ land, water, wildlife, and people, state agencies can deny those mining plans and withhold permits, preventing the project from moving forward.
Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters is working around the clock with partner organizations and businesses to do two things: stop the people who are hellbent on destroying the Boundary Waters from having their way, and find a path towards permanent protection.
It’s not what we stand to gain; it’s what we stand to lose that cannot be replaced. Hunters, hikers, anglers, birders, and outdoor users from across the nation must stand in unity to stop the SELL OUT of the Boundary Waters.
Collectively, we will not sit idly by as the iconic landscapes of America are auctioned off for pennies on the dollar to foreign mining companies, with no clear explanation of how doing so will improve the lives of the people and future generations.
The current and future protections for our cherished public lands and waters now depend on all of us, regardless of who you voted for. Together, we must ACT NOW to stop this. Contact your legislators now at the U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121 and tell them to support the current protections in place for the Boundary Waters.
