DNR advances Graphite One drilling permit near Nome

Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources has issued a land use exploration permit to Graphite One (Alaska) Inc. for continued drilling on state land near Nome — a quiet regulatory step in what has become one of the more consequential mining fights in the state.

The Division of Mining, Land and Water’s Northern Regional Office issued permits covering a remote tract in western Alaska, described in state land records as west of the Kateel River Meridian.. The permit appeared May 30 on the state’s public notices system.

The site is Graphite Creek, roughly 37 miles north of Nome and the largest identified graphite deposit in the United States . It sits at the center of a broader push to reduce American dependence on Chinese graphite: the U.S. is the only major industrial economy that imports 100 percent of its natural graphite , and the Defense Department has backed the project with a $37.5 million grant  under the Defense Production Act.

A much larger federal permitting decision — led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — targets September 29, 2026 . That process has drawn significant pushback: nearly 57 percent of public comments raised concerns about the project, and the Native Villages of Teller and Brevig Mission have requested separate consultations with regulators, excluding company management .

The state drilling permit keeps exploration moving while that fight plays out.