THE LINK: JANUARY 2024 12 joint-venture of the two companies, plans a limited program of environmental work this year, but no drilling. Continued exploration at Arctic and Bornite are important because it would still be years before a road can be built. That’s because Ambler Metals needs more metal reserves confirmed before a mine can be constructed. One or more mines are needed to get the road financed and built because companies must sign contracts for toll fees for shipping ore concentrates. Signed contracts are needed for AIDEA to issue revenue bonds to fund construction. By denying authorization for a road, the agency is signaling that it will continue to oppose access to the area. NANA Regional Corp., the Alaska Native regional corporation for northwest Alaska, is critical of Interior’s action. “BLM’s actions threaten Alaska Native corporations’ responsibility to advance the socioeconomic interests of shareholders in accordance with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act,” and goes beyond the law in several aspects, NANA said in a statement. “NANA will continue to defend access to our region as mandated by Congress in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), which authorizes surface transportation across the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve to the Dalton Highway. “For more than 40 years NANA has successfully developed our resources alongside trusted industry partners in ways that respect our way of life and advance our region as a whole,” said John Lincoln, NANA president and CEO. NANA has concerns with the Ambler road project, but the corporation NANA still has a cooperation agreement with Ambler Metals on development of the Arctic and Bornite deposits and supports surface access to the area. Meanwhile, in another adverse federal action the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied an appeal of the corps decision against a key wetlands permit, the federal Section 404 dredge and fill permit for Pebble, a proposed copper, gold, and molybdenum mine north of Lake Iliamna, 200 miles from Anchorage. The Army corps based its denial on the earlier decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban large-scale mining in a huge area in the Bristol Bay region, in southwest Alaska. Similarly, the Alaska corps has not acted on a request by its own upper management at the corps’ Pacific region to review the Section 404 denial because of defects in the decision. Senior corps officials found fault with the agency’s denial of the Pebble wetlands permit, arguing that little consideration had been given to a wetlands impact mitigation plan and that only environmental impacts but not the economic benefits were factored in the decision to deny the permit. These actions have spawned more lawsuits. Both the state of Alaska and Pebble Partnership Ltd., the Northern Dynasty Minerals subsidiary hoping to develop Pebble, have filed lawsuits in federal court seeking to overturn the EPA action, arguing that EPA’s use of a veto authority over a large area of state-owned lands is unprecedented. — Tim Bradner CONTINUED from PAGE 11 Photos Courtesy Ambler Metals Ambler Metals camp at Bornite.
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