The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has approved a plan for exploratory mineral drilling just outside the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) over objections from environmentalists.
Franconia Minerals, a subsidiary of Twin Metals Minnesota, proposed in November to drill at up to 19 sites that sit north and south of Birch Lake, west of the Stony River, in St. Louis County.
The plan was approved by the DNR on Monday with special conditions aimed at protecting water and minimizing noise and light.
“With the special conditions in place, the DNR has determined there is little potential for risk to the environment from the approved exploration activities,” Erik Evans, a DNR spokesperson, said in a statement.
The exploration is authorized through March 2027.
Birch Lake, which is 10 miles south of Ely, is part of the watershed that flows into the BWCAW. The proposal to drill for “metallic minerals” has drawn concern from several environmental groups.
“This exploratory drilling could inevitably lead to a mine at Birch Lake, which flows directly into the wilderness,” Katelynn Rolfes, an advocate for Environment Minnesota, said in a November statement. “Birch Lake has already been polluted by sulfates, and this new proposal could cause irreparable damage, further contaminating the water and leaching acid runoff into the Boundary Waters.”
In a statement Tuesday, Kathy Graul, a spokeswoman for Twin Metals Minnesota, said the project will help Minnesota better understand its resources and is only the first step in a long process that could lead to a mining proposal being submitted.
