Project proponents make midnight hour appeal for Biden administration to reconsider "irresponsible and unacceptable" permit decision for road.

National media reports that the Biden administration is set to deny permits to build a 211-mile access road to the Ambler Mining District in Northwest Alaska has project proponents making a midnight-hour appeal to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to adhere to laws that led to the formation of the 49th State and were meant to ensure its prosperity.

"If true, this decision ignores the support of local communities for this project, while denying jobs for Alaskans and critical revenues for a region where youth are being forced to leave because of a lack of opportunity," said Kaleb Froehlich, managing director of Ambler Metals, a joint venture with mine projects that would be accessed by the proposed Ambler Road. "A denial would also undermine the promise made to Alaskans in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which guaranteed a right-of-way for this crucial project."

Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse – founder and former CEO of Trilogy Metals, one of the Ambler Metals JV partners, and current chairman of Valhalla Metals, a company that is exploring a minerals project along the proposed Ambler Road route – says denial of permits to build the Ambler Road goes against the Biden administration's stated critical minerals policy and the aspirations of many of the people that live in the region.

"For an administration that talks about the importance of a domestic supply of critical metals, the importance of secure domestic supply chains, and mandates to transition to a green energy and transportation future, this decision makes no sense," the Vahala Metals chairman said. "Instead, they should be listening to the people who live in the Kobuk and Koyukuk regions, who want jobs, and who want a better and sustainable future for their children. Instead, they listen to anti-mining groups outside of Alaska."

"Frankly, I am disgusted," he added.

No action for Alaska

While BLM has not officially announced its decision on the Ambler Access Project, the official name of the Ambler Road, POLITICO reported on Tuesday that two anonymous sources with knowledge of the decision said BLM plans to go with the "no action" option when it publishes the final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for the proposed Ambler Road.

No action is basically a denial of permits that says that the federal permitting agency has decided not to permit the project being applied for or any of the alternatives that were considered during the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) permitting process.

Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority

For the Ambler Road, the alternatives considered were various industrial access routes connecting the Ambler Mining District to the Dalton Highway and Alaska's contiguous road system.

A no-action decision by BLM takes all these options off the table and strands the rich stores of critical minerals like copper, cobalt, and zinc found in the Ambler District.

"Denying access to the Ambler Mining District, which adheres to stringent environmental standards, would ironically force our nation to send jobs overseas, rely on critical minerals from China and countries [with] little or no environmental protections, while impoverishing local Alaska Native communities near the road," said Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) Executive Director Randy Ruaro.

AIDEA, which plans to build the Ambler Road and recoup its investments by charging tolls to mining companies that would use the industrial access to deliver metals to market, applied for the permits being considered by BLM.

The quasi-state-owned development authority was originally granted the federal permits to build the road in 2020, but BLM pulled those permits for further review after President Biden took office.

The federal land manager cited a lack of adequate consultation with Alaska tribes and evaluation of potential impacts the road might have on subsistence uses as reasons to reevaluate the previously issued authorizations.

Irresponsible and unacceptable

Since pulling the previously approved federal permits, BLM has been reanalyzing the proposed road, including further subsistence studies and additional tribal consultation.

In recent weeks, a growing number of Alaska Native Villages and Tribes in the area have come out in strong support of the proposed Ambler Road.

"We deserve the same opportunities as the billion-dollar donors and conservation groups trying to lock us into a state of poverty with the highest food and energy prices in the nation. Without access to running water or sewer, how are we supposed to be healthy people?" said PJ Simon, First Chief of Allakaket, an Alaska Native community about 35 miles south of the proposed Ambler Road. "Projects like the Ambler Road help us to develop skills and secure jobs that empower our people, much like Trans-Alaska Pipeline did in the 1970s."

Gov. Mike Dunleavy

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy says the reports that BLM plans to deny permits for the Ambler Road "shows just how out of touch the Biden administration is with Alaska."

"This potential decision not only contradicts the law but blatantly ignores the stringent environmental stewardship we uphold in Alaska," he added. "To hinder access to our responsibly managed resources and then force America to import minerals from countries with questionable environmental practices is not just ironic-it's irresponsible and unacceptable."

BLM's final decision on the Ambler Road is expected in the coming days.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Check back with North of 60 Mining News for in-depth analysis on the Ambler Road decision and the next steps for this proposed industrial access project in Northwest Alaska.

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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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