Mining News
Ambler road decision delay criticized by Alaska export agency
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(Kitco News) - Trilogy Metals (NYSE American: TMQ) will now have to wait until 2024 for a decision on road access.
On Friday the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) filed its sixth status report with the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska summarizing the Department's progress in the voluntary remand of the Record of Decision (ROD) on the Environmental Impact Statement for the Ambler Access Project. In the latest report, the Department indicated the release of the ROD for the project, originally planned for the end of 2023, will now occur during the second quarter of 2024 – an additional six months.
Trilogy Metals is a metals exploration and development company which holds a 50 percent interest in Ambler Metals located in Alaska.
Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) criticized the delay.
"The update from BLM is frustrating," said AIDEA Executive Director Randy Ruaro. “This delay not only impacts AIDEA and our partners with additional costs, but it also impacts individuals, communities, and the State who would like to see the economic benefits, future jobs and revenue that come with construction and operation of the road."
In 2021 South32 exercised its option to form a 50/50 joint venture with Trilogy.
The feasibility study describes the technical and economic viability of establishing a conventional open-pit copper-zinc-lead-silver-gold mine-and-mill complex for a 10,000 tonne-per-day operation for a minimum 12-year mine life. The base case scenario utilizes long-term metal prices of $3.00/lb for copper, $1.10/lb for zinc, $1.00/lb for lead, $1,300/oz for gold and $18.00/oz for silver.
