Obama administration declines renewal of Twin Metals mining leases near Boundary Waters

Near the end of his second term, President Obama's Department of the Interior declines to renew two federal mineral leases held by Twin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of Chilean mining giant Antofagasta Plc, for copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters. The leases, originally granted to INCO in 1966, had renewed automatically for decades. The Obama administration determines that the environmental risk to the Boundary Waters watershed is too high to justify renewal. The decision sets off a back-and-forth that will continue through three subsequent administrations.