The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
AIDEA, Ambler Metals to invest $13 million for 2021 program North of 60 Mining News – April 19, 2021
A drill tests the Arctic copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver deposit near the western terminus of the proposed 211-mile road to the Ambler Mining District in Northwest Alaska.
The yellow line shows the 211-mile route federal regulators approved for the proposed road to the Ambler Mining District.
With a $13 million budget for predevelopment activities during 2021, a proposed road to the enormously metal-rich Ambler Mining District in Northwest Alaska takes another step closer to reality.
This summer's work to prepare the proposed 211-mile industrial access road for a development decision will be funded equally by Ambler Metals LLC, which is working to develop the rich mineral potential at the road's terminus, and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, which would fund the building and maintenance of the road, and collect tolls to recoup its costs.
In February, Ambler Metals and AIDEA entered into a development agreement that outlines how the companies will fund and manage the Ambler Access Project's feasibility and permitting activities until a definitive construction decision has been reached for the road, which is expected before the end of 2024.
Under this agreement, the mining company and development authority will each contribute up to $35 million for Ambler Road pre-development costs until that decision is made.
In the meantime, Ambler Metals, a 50-50 joint venture partnership between Trilogy Metals Inc. and South32 Ltd., is investing another $27 million this year on exploration, as well as the engineering studies and other work needed to initiate the permitting process for a mine at the world-class Arctic deposit.
According to a 2020 feasibility study, a mine at the Arctic deposit would produce 1.9 billion pounds of copper, 2.3 billion lb of zinc, 388 million lb of lead, 386,000 ounces of gold, and 40.6 million oz of silver over an initial 12-year mine life.
Arctic is one of numerous deposits and occurrences that have been identified across the Upper Kobuk Minerals Projects, a partnership that brings together Arctic and a series of volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits and occurrences along a 70-mile (100 kilometers) belt that runs across the Ambler District with copper-rich lands owned by NANA Corp., the Alaska Native regional corporation for Northwest Alaska.
The NANA contribution to UKMP hosts Bornite, a world-class copper-cobalt deposit about 16 miles southwest of the proposed Arctic Mine. It is expected that Bornite would be the second mine to be developed in the Ambler District.
Mines at Arctic, Bornite and other deposits developed in the district would produce concentrates that need to be shipped to refineries. The ability to truck these concentrates to the Alaska railhead at Fairbanks is the primary reason the Ambler Road is needed.
The route of the Ambler Access Project approved by federal agencies runs nearly due west from the Dalton Highway along the south side of the Brooks Range. While this corridor would primarily cross state lands, the first roughly 20 miles would be built on Bureau of Land Management federal lands before crossing through a couple of property blocks owned by Doyon, the Alaska Native regional corporation for Interior Alaska.
Toward the western end, the Amber Road would also pass through a 26-mile stretch of the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve.
In January, BLM, the National Park Service and AIDEA signed documents that provide a 50-year right-of-way across the federal lands that would be crossed by the Ambler Access Project.
AIDEA has also confirmed that it has entered into a land access agreement with Doyon to conduct final feasibility and permitting activities for the proposed road.
This agreement provides AIDEA, and its contractors, controlled access to Doyon lands along the proposed road route.
"I would like to applaud the hard work being carried out by AIDEA which, in a span of a few months, has made a number of significant accomplishments in the advancement of the AAP (Ambler Access Project)," said Trilogy Metals President and CEO Tony Giardini. "I am also very encouraged with the work AIDEA has invested in with respect to its engagement with Doyon Ltd. The development of relationships with all stakeholders is the key to creating opportunities for Alaskans and other stakeholders."
CORRECTION & EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been corrected to state that the Ambler Access Project would cross a 26-mile stretch of the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve. U.S. lawmakers included a special provision mandating a passage across Gates of the Arctic Preserve when they passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in 1980. Section 201 (4) of ANILCA reads, "Congress finds that there is a need for access for surface transportation purposes across the Western (Kobuk River) unit of the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve (from the Ambler Mining District to the Alaska Pipeline Haul Road) and the Secretary shall permit such access in accordance with the provisions of this subsection."
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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