The Biden administration says it is awaiting a legal decision from the US Department of the Interior before deciding whether to approve the Twin Metals copper-nickel mine project in northeast Minnesota, Kallanish reports.

That news came from US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in a press conference.

“We continue to wait for the Department of the Interior. They have to issue a legal opinion before we know what direction we need to take” at the Agriculture Department, he says at a White House presser transcribed and released by the White House. It is unclear when that decision might be issued.

The $1.7 billion mine project is supported by Minnesota labour unions and opposed by environmental groups. The US Forest Service, part of Agriculture, oversees the surface land. The Bureau of Land Management, part of Interior, oversees mining operations. The mine could aid President Joe Biden efforts to build more electric vehicles, while environmentalists say the mine would threaten the sprawling Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Twin Metals, part of Chile-based Antofagasta Plc, has said the project can be safely constructed and help boost the Minnesota economy. The project is being reviewed by federal and state agencies.

Vilsack had blocked the Twin Metals project when he served as agriculture secretary under President Barack Obama, only to have the Trump administration later reverse that decision.

Vilsack could block the mine for 20 years, although Congress could permanently ban the mine. A bill has been introduced in Congress.