North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

U.S. Bureau of Land Management April 7 announced a nine-month extension of the scoping period for the Ambler Road project, a proposed 211-mile road that would run west from the Dalton Highway along the southern foothills of the Brooks Range to the Ambler Mining District.

In February, BLM announced a 90-day scoping period for the project that was slated to expire on May 31. That expiration has now been extended to Jan. 31, 2018, for a total of 338 days of scoping.

Tim La Marr, manager of BLM's Central Yukon field office, said public meetings held this fall and winter would provide stakeholders busy with subsistence and other summer activities a better opportunity to comment.

If built, the Ambler Road would provide access to the Upper Kobuk Minerals Project, being advanced under a partnership between Trilogy Metals Inc., South32 Ltd. and NANA Regional Corp. In 2016, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority submitted an application for rights-of-way, permits, and related authorizations for the proposed road.

BLM, the lead agency, filed a notice of intent in February to prepare an environmental impact statement for the road.

The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant issues that will influence the scope of the EIS and to guide the process.

-SHANE LASLEY