AIDEA, Governor Dunleavy Visit Ambler Mining District

Governor Mike Dunleavy has met with Alaska Native shareholders and local residents of the Northwest Arctic Borough during a site visit to the Ambler Mining District in northwestern Alaska. “Collaboration begins with trust. When we work together and develop our state’s resources responsibly, we can achieve incredible outcomes for all Alaskans,” said Dunleavy.

The Ambler Access Project is a proposed 211-mile, east-west running controlled industrial access road that would provide permitted access to the Ambler Mining District, a large prospective copper-zinc mineral belt with extensive deposits of gold and silver as well as a domestic resource for the critical minerals required by our nation’s tech-focused economy. The route includes five landowners, including the Northwest Arctic Borough and two Alaska Native Corporations—Doyon, Limited and NANA.

Active and continuous collaboration between Alaska Native landowners, tribal leaders, village elders, the private sector, and state and federal entities has led to the current phase of Final Feasibility and Permitting following the Joint Record of Decision issued by the Bureau of Land Management and US Army Corps of Engineers on July 23, 2020. This type of cooperative, responsible resource development is a proven model as evidenced by the success of the Red Dog Mine and the DeLong Mountain Transportation System in northwestern Alaska.

“The Red Dog Mine has now provided three generations of high-skilled, good paying jobs for local residents. Our goal is to provide access to help responsibly develop economic opportunities for local communities and families in the region along the access route with the development of the Ambler Access Project,” said AIDEA Chairman Dana Pruhs.

To best preserve and protect the rights of subsistence users along the route, a Subsistence Advisory Committee Working Group is being established amongst the regional stakeholders. The working group will establish the framework and composition of the committee which will help identify road crossing locations used for subsistence and other local travel, in addition to providing input into road operations to minimize the potential for adverse effects on subsistence access.

Overall success of the project can only be achieved through continuous collaboration and cooperation throughout the region among all stakeholders. “I look forward to seeing the resources, experience, and relationships within the region come together to listen and share their valuable perspectives from the Subsistence Advisory Committee to see this project provide a sustainable economic base for families in the region,” said Dunleavy.