VANCOUVER, BC, May 2, 2023
/PRNewswire/ - Trilogy Metals Inc. (TSX: TMQ) (NYSE
American: TMQ) ("Trilogy" or the "Company") is pleased to provide
an update on the Ambler Access Project ("AAP") – the proposed
211-mile, industrial-use-only road from the Upper Kobuk Mineral
Projects ("UKMP") to the Dalton Highway that will enable advancing
exploration and development at the Ambler Mining District, home to
some of the world's richest known copper-dominant polymetallic
deposits.
It is envisioned that the AAP would be financed and maintained
by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority
("AIDEA"), and that companies such as Ambler Metals LLC ("Ambler
Metals"), our 50/50 joint venture with South32 Limited (ASX, LSE,
JSE: S32; ADR: SOUHY), would enter into commercial agreements to
use the road and pay tolls to AIDEA and its financing partners.
More information about the Ambler Access Project is available at
www.ambleraccess.org and about Ambler Metals is available at
www.amblermetals.com.
In March 2023, the Board of Ambler
Metals approved funding in the amount of $12.3 million to support AIDEA's efforts to
advance the AAP. The total budget of $24.6
million, funded equally by AIDEA and Ambler Metals, will
support this year's program consisting of field studies, permitting
and data collection, as well as work to support the United States
Bureau of Land Management's completion of additional work to
reinstate the permits for the road.
AIDEA is focused on the startup of the field work where they
plan on utilizing two camps at Coldfoot and Bornite. AIDEA plans to
utilize the Coldfoot camp from May to mid-September and the Bornite
camp from mid-June to August. The planned field program will
consist of cultural resource inventory surveys and testing of sites
over approximately 765 acres, hydraulic and hydrology studies at 47
bridge crossings to assess conditions for area drainage, culvert
placement and bridge design, collecting topographical and
bathymetric survey data to support bridge data and fish passage
culverts, engineering reconnaissance surveys and fish habitat
investigations on over 100 sites. In addition, AIDEA continues
engaging in stakeholder outreach with plans of up to 20 job fairs
and community meetings this year.
To better understand subsistence along the proposed access
corridor, and to promote communication and knowledge sharing, AIDEA
sponsors a Subsistence Advisory Committee. The Subsistence Advisory
Committee provides official seats for residents of Alatna,
Allakaket, Ambler, Evansville, Hughes, Huslia, Kiana, Kobuk,
Noorvik, and Shungnak. Additionally, the Gates of the
Arctic National Park Subsistence Commission, NANA Regional
Corporation, Inc., and Doyon Limited have ex-officio roles.
Road Permits - Litigation and Remand
During the summer of 2020, the United States Bureau of Land
Management ("BLM") granted permits that authorized a right-of-way
across federally managed lands for AIDEA and the AAP. Shortly
thereafter, a coalition of national and Alaska environmental non-government
organizations ("ENGO") filed lawsuits against the federal agencies
responsible for issuing the permits for the AAP. The ENGO's main
position is that due process was not carried out during the
permitting of the road. In May 2022,
the right-of-way permits issued to AIDEA for the AAP were suspended
by the federal agencies based upon a request to remand the
lawsuits. This remand request was made by the U.S. Department of
Justice on behalf of the federal agencies and was granted by the
U.S. District Court. The purpose of the remand is to allow the BLM
to carry out additional supplemental work in response to the
lawsuits.
The original lawsuit was filed by the Northern Alaska
Environmental Center and several other environmental and
conservation groups, and a subsequent separate lawsuit was filed by
Tanana Chiefs Conference and several tribes. As of February 2023, three of the six tribes have
chosen to withdraw from the lawsuit – the Native Village of Kobuk
Traditional Council, Allakaket Tribal Council, and Huslia Tribal
Council.
In April 2023, several Alaska
Native leaders travelled to Washington,
D.C., with representatives of Ambler Metals and AIDEA to
urge the fair review and timely completion of the Ambler Access
Project's Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement ("SEIS").
There is strong support for the AAP from local residents and the
Alaska delegation in Washington.
"We are asking lawmakers in Washington to listen to the voices of the
people who have lived on these lands and stewarded Alaska since time immemorial," said Naasri
Fred Sun, President of the Shungnak Tribe. "Our Tribe has a vision
for the future of our community to promote our self-determination
and Iñupiaq way of life. This is why our meetings in Washington this week were so
important."
"The Ambler Access Project is an opportunity to create
high-paying jobs within the region so that our Tribal members and
their families can remain in their communities," said Wilmer Beetus, Chief and Mayor of Hughes, Alaska. "This project will reduce the
high cost of living by providing an opportunity for access to
cheaper fuel and other goods, which currently have to be flown in.
This is crucial as rural Alaska
has both a high unemployment rate and extremely high cost of
living, where a gallon of gas can cost $15.00, and housing is in short supply. Further,
a subsistence lifestyle is a vital aspect of our lives connecting
Alaska Native people, families, and communities with the land,
animals and fish. The Ambler Access Project will responsibly
co-exist with the subsistence needs of families and communities in
the region."
"The Ambler Access Project is critical for both Alaska's economy and a domestic supply of the
raw materials needed for everything from electric vehicles to
defense technologies," said U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, and U.S. Representative
Mary Peltola in a joint statement.
"Further permitting delays are unacceptable and Ambler's approval—which is guaranteed under
federal law—must be a priority for the Biden administration. We're
glad that representatives from Ambler Metals, AIDEA, NANA, and
several Tribes visited Washington,
D.C. this week to discuss the Ambler Access Project with
policymakers across the executive and legislative branches.
Alaska's congressional delegation
is united in strong support of this important project and eager to
see this private road move forward."
The BLM currently anticipates publishing a draft SEIS during the
second quarter of 2023, which will be open for public comment upon
publication. The BLM also anticipates publishing a final SEIS,
conducting final pre-decision consultation with Alaska Native
Tribes and Corporations, and issuing a Record of Decision, all
within the fourth quarter of 2023.
About Trilogy Metals
Trilogy Metals Inc. is a metal exploration and development
company that holds a 50 percent interest in Ambler Metals LLC which
has a 100 percent interest in the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in
Northwestern Alaska. On
December 19, 2019, South32, a
globally diversified mining and metals company, exercised its
option to form a 50/50 joint venture with Trilogy. The UKMP is
located within the Ambler Mining District, one of the richest and
most-prospective known copper-dominant districts in the world. It
hosts world-class polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide
("VMS") deposits that contain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver,
and carbonate replacement deposits that have been found to host
high-grade copper and cobalt mineralization. Exploration efforts
have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler Mining District –
the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement
deposit. Both deposits are located within a land package that spans
approximately 190,929 hectares. Ambler Metals has an agreement with
NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., an Alaska Native Corporation that
provides a framework for the exploration and potential development
of the Ambler Mining District in cooperation with local
communities. Trilogy's vision is to develop the Ambler Mining
District into a premier North American copper producer while
protecting and respecting subsistence livelihoods.
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain "forward-looking
information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable
Canadian and United States
securities legislation including the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other
than statements of historical fact, included herein, including,
without limitation, statements relating to the permitting and
construction of the AAP, the timing and benefits of the AAP, the
anticipated timing of the draft SEIS, final SEIS and Record of
Decision, and the merits of the UKMP are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not
always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates",
"believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and
similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or
results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved.
Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties.
There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be
accurate, and actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
the Company's expectations include the uncertainties involving
whether the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority
will build the AAP; the results of the additional
supplemental work on the SEIS resulting from the voluntary
remand; the impact and outcome of current or future litigation; the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; success of exploration activities,
permitting timelines, requirements for additional capital,
government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks,
prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services,
uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results
and geological tests, unexpected cost increases and other risks and
uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended November 30, 2022
filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission and in other
Company reports and documents filed with applicable securities
regulatory authorities from time to time. The Company's
forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and
projections on the date the statements are made. The Company
assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or
beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they
change, except as required by law.
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SOURCE Trilogy Metals Inc.