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Trump Signs Order to Approve Mining Road in Alaska

President Trump signed an executive order on October 6 authorizing construction of the proposed 211-mile Ambler Road in Alaska, reversing the Biden administration’s prior decision to deny permits for the project. The industrial road will connect to the Ambler Mining District in northern Alaska, an area rich in copper, gold, silver, and other critical minerals. In addition to moving forward on the Ambler Road project, the Trump administration announced a partnership with Trilogy Metals, investing $35.6 million to support mining exploration in Alaska’s Ambler Mining District, while providing the U.S. government with a 10% share in Trilogy Metals and warrants to purchase an additional 7.5% of the company.

Background

During President Trump’s first term, his administration approved the Ambler Road project, granting a 50-year right-of-way permit just days before leaving office. However, in June 2024, the Biden administration’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) revoked those permits, blocking the road’s planned route across federal lands. The road links the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District, providing the essential access needed to make mining operations in the remote region economically feasible. Despite its vast size — roughly 58 times larger than Maryland — Alaska has about the same amount of paved roadway, highlighting the state’s limited transportation infrastructure.

In its decision record, the Biden administration’s BLM cited numerous anticipated adverse impacts from the proposed road, including habitat fragmentation affecting the Western Arctic Caribou Herd and other wildlife, harm to fish habitats, air and water pollution, accelerated permafrost thaw, and cultural disruption. The BLM concluded that these cumulative effects would have significant consequences for Indigenous communities in the region, stating that “impacts on subsistence and public health, including stress, food insecurity, and potential toxin exposure from the road, would disproportionately affect low-income and minority populations, particularly Alaska Native villages that rely on the surrounding environment for subsistence.”

Source: Alaska Beacon

The Biden administration’s decision, however, conflicted with the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA), which explicitly directs federal agencies to provide access to the Ambler Mining District. Under ANILCA, Congress authorized construction of the road and instructed the Secretary of the Interior to approve the necessary permits. Section 201(4)(b) of ANILCA, which established the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, clearly states that “Congress finds a need for access for surface transportation across the Western (Kobuk River) unit of the Gates of the Arctic National Preserve (from the Ambler Mining District to the Alaska Pipeline Haul Road) and the Secretary shall permit such access in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.”

China dominates both the mining and processing of critical minerals, frequently relying on child labor in the Congo for cobalt extraction and using inexpensive coal power for mineral refining. By rejecting U.S. mineral development projects essential to producing green technologies, the Biden administration increased America’s dependence on foreign — particularly Chinese — sources for these materials and the products that rely on them. The Biden administration’s decision to block the Ambler Access Project disregarded local community support, eliminated potential jobs for Alaskans, and withheld vital revenue from a region already struggling with outmigration due to limited economic opportunities. Similar actions were taken against other mineral development projects in Alaska, Minnesota, and several additional states.

Analysis

The Biden administration’s illegal decision to revoke the permits the Ambler Mining Road needed for construction was an undue burden on the American mining industry. As explained by Sarah Montalbano in the Wall Street Journal, “Whether to mine on Alaska’s pristine land is a debate worth having. But if the minerals aren’t mined in the U.S., they’ll be sourced from overseas, where in many cases China dominates both mining and processing.” If we want to onshore mineral supply chains and reduce the industry’s environmental impact globally, policymakers need to keep politics out of permitting decisions. By reversing Biden’s decision, President Trump took a positive step in this direction.

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