A US judge has rejected a bid by a subsidiary of Chilean mining company Antofagasta to restore canceled mineral leases for a proposed $1.7-billion Minnesota copper and nickel mine, which the Biden administration had blocked over concerns it could pollute a major recreational waterway.
Cooper said his court lacks jurisdiction over Twin Metals’ claims under the Administrative Procedure Act, because the rights allegedly violated by the government stem from the terms of its leasing contract with the US government – not procedural legal rights outlined in that law. He said the claims should have been brought under the Tucker Act, which allows parties to sue the US over contractual disputes involving the government.
The company said in its August 2022 lawsuit that it had spent hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a "state-of-the-art, environmentally sound mine." It said the Biden administration's decision to cancel the leases was arbitrary and capricious, and ignored the need to carefully balance environmental concerns with the need for critical mineral development.