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

United States District Court Judge Sharon Gleason confirmed the U.S. Department of Interior's request to remand the previously issued federal permits for construction of the proposed 211-mile Ambler Access Project but ruled the permits will not be terminated altogether.

Earlier this year, DOI requested a voluntary remand of the previously issued joint record of decision that authorized a right-of-way across federal lands for building the industrial-use-only road that would connect the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Alaska's Ambler Mining District to the Dalton Highway.

DOI indicated that the remand was necessary due to deficiencies in their analysis of impacts to subsistence uses under Section 810 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), which outlines the requirements for addressing impacts to subsistence uses when making decisions on the use of federal lands in Alaska. The federal agency requested a remand to supplement the administrative record in these regards.

Tribal presidents of two Alaska Native villages located near the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects at the western end of the proposed Ambler Road, expressed their frustration with the remand in an editorial published in the Anchorage Daily News earlier this month.

"Our tribal members have been hunting, fishing and gathering as stewards of these lands since time immemorial," Fred Sun, tribal president and chair of Shungnak, and Johnetta Horner, tribal president of Kobuk, penned in the letter. "We believe those of us who live on and use these traditional lands are the best advocates for protecting the animals, plants and environment that have been the core of our Iñupiat identity and way of life for generations."

Their letter also reminds readers that ANILCA "created more than 57 million acres of wilderness in Alaska, but also mandated a right-of-way across federal lands between the Ambler Mining District and the Dalton Highway."

Sun and Horner, however, know there are other views, including that of Frank Thompson, First Chief of Evansville, a village near the eastern end of the proposed Ambler Road.

"Our lives here are only possible because of the subsistence resources that also exist here," Thompson said. "The previous administration ignored our knowledge of subsistence resources that exist on these lands and the grave threat to those resources posed by the proposed industrial road."

In March, the state of Alaska; NANA, the Alaska Native regional corporation for Northwest Alaska; the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, which permitted and planned to build the Ambler Road; and Ambler Metals LLC, a 50-50 joint venture between Trilogy Metals and South32 Ltd. to explore and develop mineral deposits at the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects, filed briefs with the district court in opposition to the DOI's motion for a voluntary remand.

In its brief, Ambler Metals said it is not opposed to the remand as long as the road permits are not terminated, the remand is completed within nine months, DOI updates the court on the remand status every 60 days, and the federal agency lodges the administrative record with the court within 30 days of issuing any new decision.

Judge Gleason largely agreed with Ambler Metals' requests, ruling that the court will retain jurisdiction over the remand, and DOI is required to file a status report with the court within 60 days from the date of the order and every 60 days thereafter.

"Now that the court has ruled to remand and not, as requested by the plaintiffs, vacate the JROD, we can focus on the upcoming exploration field season at the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects and AIDEA's field program for the AAP (Ambler Access Project)," said Trilogy Metals President and CEO Tony Giardini.

Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority

The yellow line shows the 211-mile route federal regulators approved for the proposed road to the Ambler Mining District.

Trilogy says this will include discussions with NANA, AIDEA, the Northwest Arctic Borough, the state, and South32 to determine the impact the court decision will have on AIDEA's proposed plan and budget for the 2022 summer field season activities that were previously announced.

"We are hopeful that the court's decision to retain jurisdiction over this matter and its stipulation requiring regular status reports to be filed will result in the additional analysis being completed in a prompt time period," Giardini added.

Sun and Horner also urge DOI to quickly resolve any deficiencies in the record of decision for the Ambler Road.

"It is critical that the department clearly identify the additional tasks and have specific timelines to complete further analysis of subsistence, environmental, religious and cultural impacts of the Ambler Access Project," they wrote. "And we believe certain fieldwork should be allowed to continue so we do not lose the short season for that work to be done."

Author Bio

Shane Lasley, Publisher

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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