Arctic mine developer wraps summer drilling, says its focus is shifting toward building

Ambler Metals finished its summer drilling at the proposed Arctic copper mine in Northwest Alaska, drilling 42 holes concentrated where the mine's waste rock and tailings would go, co-owner Trilogy Metals said Oct. 21. The company says the work gives its engineers the geotechnical and groundwater data they need to finalize the mine's design.

"As the Arctic Project advances through permitting, our focus is shifting from defining the project to preparing to build it," Ambler Metals President Ron Rimelman said in Trilogy's announcement, which also named a new senior vice president to lead engineering and development of the mine.

The roughly 5,200 meters of drilling targeted the planned waste rock storage areas, the tailings footprint and groundwater, and was meant to shape where the mine's infrastructure goes and to support its permit applications, the company said.

Arctic would be an open-pit mine 22 miles from Kobuk. It depends on the proposed 211-mile Ambler Road, which hasn't been built and whose state easement seven conservation groups have appealed in court. Tanana Chiefs Conference and affiliated tribes have opposed the road and mine, citing harm to fish, wildlife and subsistence.

The Army Corps of Engineers began its environmental review of the mine in September. The company is aiming for a draft environmental impact statement in October 2027 and a final decision in September 2028, and Trilogy Chief Executive Tony Giardini said a "potential construction decision" would follow. The federal permitting dashboard estimates the review will finish Nov. 26, 2028.

Next year, the company expects to step up exploration and development drilling at the nearby Bornite copper-cobalt deposit and along the 60-mile mineral belt that holds Arctic, where it counts about 30 known mineral occurrences and electromagnetic anomalies. Field work is set to restart in April or May.

Ambler Metals is owned equally by Trilogy and South32. It has an agreement with NANA Regional Corporation that Trilogy describes as a framework for exploring and potentially developing the district in cooperation with local communities.