Iron Range legislators push for mineral reinstatement

Five members of the Iron Range political delegation are asking the federal government to reinstate mining leases on 225,504 acres of land in northeastern Minnesota.

“The Iron Range is home to one of the richest mineral deposits in the world and could be a crucial domestic supplier of copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and many of the precious materials needed for our modern world,” the five Republican Iron Range lawmakers wrote to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Minerals Resources Subcommittee ranking member. “These metals and minerals are needed for electric vehicle battery production, renewable energy projects, smartphones, defense systems, and many other modern technologies. Blocking the mining of these minerals in Minnesota runs in direct contradiction to the Biden Administration’s stated goal of increasing domestic mineral production and would further America’s dependence on foreign nations while leaving us vulnerable to global supply chains.”