2026-04-16 16:27:33 UTC / 路透社
记者：欧内斯特·沙伊德
2026年4月16日 格林威治标准时间下午4:27 1小时前更新
- 参议院以51票赞成、49票反对推翻拜登时代的采矿禁令
- 安托法加斯塔计划建设铜、镍和钴矿
- 特朗普支持该项目；预计将签署法案
- 环保人士担忧采矿会污染边界水域
4月16日（路透社）——美国参议院周四以微弱优势投票推翻前总统乔·拜登对明尼苏达州北部的采矿禁令，与众议院达成一致，并将该法案送交唐纳德·特朗普总统，后者预计将签署该法案。
此举逆转了拜登对苏必利尔国家森林内225504英亩（91200公顷）富含矿产土地实施的20年采矿禁令，并将极大推动安托法加斯塔的双子金属铜、钴和镍项目，以及该地区与加拿大接壤边境的其他拟建矿场。
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环保人士长期以来一直担忧，该矿场可能破坏这片水资源丰富的地区，该区域每年接待超过20万名徒步旅行者和皮划艇爱好者。矿商则表示，他们相信可以安全开采矿产。
参议院以51票对49票将该法案送交特朗普，后者在2024年竞选期间曾承诺推翻这项禁令。众议院已于1月批准该法案。
如果特朗普签署该法案，根据1996年《国会审查法案》中的一项条款，未来的总统将无法复制拜登的禁令。记者暂时无法联系到白宫置评。
路透社1月首次报道称，特朗普政府官员和议员启动了一项复杂计划，以拜登未正式通知国会为由推翻这项禁令，环保人士已驳斥这一说法。
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特朗普政府官员仍需向专注智利市场的安托法加斯塔重新发放采矿租约，该公司数十年来一直试图在联邦政府控制的土地上开发这座矿场。该矿场还需通过环境审查并获得许可。
矿产需求与环境保护的冲突
周四的投票几乎肯定会加剧围绕电气化经济和国防至关重要的矿产的开采地点和方式的紧张局势。
铜、镍和钴被用于制造电动汽车、人工智能数据中心、武器和无数其他设备，但美国这些矿产的进口量远高于本土产量。
代表明尼苏达州北部的共和党议员皮特·斯托伯是该法案的发起人，他称周四的投票是“美国的重大胜利”，并表示此举“只是将（是否采矿的）决策权交还给既定的许可程序，由科学而非政治决定结果”。
保护组织“拯救边界水域”称此次投票是“美国最受喜爱的荒野地区的黑暗一天”，并誓言反对该项目。
“明尼苏达州民众和广大美国民众的态度明确且响亮：这片标志性地区需要得到保护，”该组织执行主任英格丽德·莱昂斯说道。
地球正义、荒野协会、西部优先中心、边界水域荒野之友和其他环保组织均对参议院的投票表示反对，此次投票基本沿党派路线进行。
安托法加斯塔的双子金属子公司表示，该法案的通过反映了“我国加强矿产供应链能力的关键时刻”。
“双子金属团队期待着在未来任何监管程序中与我们的社区进行充分的讨论和互动，”该公司发言人凯西·格劳尔说道。
安托法加斯塔曾表示，该矿场开采的关键矿产很可能将出口到海外进行加工。
欧内斯特·沙伊德报道，罗萨尔巴·奥布莱恩编辑
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US Senate narrowly overturns Minnesota mining ban, sending bill to Trump
2026-04-16 16:27:33 UTC / Reuters
By Ernest Scheyder
April 16, 2026 4:27 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago
Antofagasta Plc logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken April 10, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
- Senate votes 51-49 to overturn Biden-era mining ban
- Antofagasta aims to build copper, nickel and cobalt mine
- Trump supports project; expected to sign bill
- Conservationists worry mine would pollute Boundary Waters
April 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to overturn former President Joe Biden’s mining ban in northern Minnesota, agreeing with the House of Representatives and sending the bill to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it.
The move reverses Biden’s 20-year block on mining across 225,504 minerals-rich acres (91,200 hectares) in the Superior National Forest and gives a major boost to Antofagasta’s Twin Metals copper, cobalt and nickel project, as well as other proposed mines in the region bordering Canada.
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Environmentalists have long worried that the mine could damage the water-rich region, which is visited by more than 200,000 hikers and canoeists each year. Miners have said they believe minerals can be extracted safely.
The Senate voted 51-49 to send the measure to Trump, who campaigned in 2024 on overturning the ban. The House approvedthe bill in January.
Should Trump sign the bill, a future president could not replicate Biden’s ban because of a provision in the 1996 Congressional Review Act. The White House was not immediately available to comment.
Reuters first reported in January that Trump officials and legislators had launched a complex plan to reverse the ban using the novel claim that Biden had not properly informed Congress, a claim that conservationists have rejected.
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Trump officials would still need to reissue mining leases to Chile-focused Antofagasta, which has been trying to develop the mine for decades on land controlled by the federal government. The mine would also need to undergo an environmental review and obtain permits.
MINERALS DEMAND CLASHES WITH CONSERVATION
Thursday’s vote is almost certain to escalate tension over where and how to procure minerals crucial for the electrified economy and national defense.
Copper, nickel and cobalt are used to build electric vehicles, AI data centers, weapons and myriad other devices, yet the U.S. imports far more of these minerals than it produces.
Congressman Pete Stauber, a Republican who represents northern Minnesota and sponsored the legislation, called Thursday’s vote a “major victory for America” and said it “simply returns the decision (on whether to mine) to established permitting processes, where science, not politics, guides the outcome.”
Save the Boundary Waters, a conservation group, called the vote “a dark day for America’s most beloved wilderness area” and vowed to fight the project.
“Minnesotans and the American public writ large have been loud and clear: this iconic place needs to be protected,” said Ingrid Lyons, the group’s executive director.
Earthjustice, The Wilderness Society, the Center for Western Priorities, Friends of the Boundary Water Wilderness and other conservation groups echoed their disapproval of the Senate’s vote, which was largely along party lines.
Antofagasta’s Twin Metals subsidiary said the bill’s passage reflects a “critical moment for our nation’s ability to strengthen our mineral supply chains.”
“The Twin Metals team looks forward to a robust discussion and engagement with our communities through any future regulatory processes,” said spokeswoman Kathy Graul.
Antofagasta has said it likely will export the mine’s critical minerals for processing overseas.
Reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien
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