President Donald Trump has reversed the previous administration’s decision to block the Ambler Road Project in Alaska, clearing the way for notable domestic infrastructure and mining developments.
The administration also brokered a $35.6 million federal investment for a 10% stake in Trilogy Metals (AMEX:TMQ), which holds extensive mining claims in the region.
“It is an economic gold mine, so to speak,” Trump said, per The Financial Times. “This was something that should have been long operating and making billions of dollars for our country and supplying a lot of energy and minerals and everything else that we are talking about.”
The Ambler Road Project envisions a 211-mile industrial road stretching from Alaska’s Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District in the northwest interior of the state.
The route would unlock access to some of North America’s largest untapped deposits of copper, cobalt, gallium, germanium, and other critical minerals — all key to electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, and advanced defense technologies.
Trump’s decision instructs the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reissue construction permits that were rescinded during the Biden administration, citing potential environmental impacts on caribou and fish habitats.
The road will be a toll-based gravel route designed to minimize ecological disruption, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who said the project “balances resource development with environmental stewardship.”
The administration projects more than 2,700 jobs and $1.1 billion in state revenues over its lifespan.
Trump’s decision follows a broad push to revive domestic mining and resource independence.
Since returning to the office, he has signed four major executive orders targeting America’s critical mineral supply chains.
In January, he ordered a permitting overhaul to speed up project approvals; in March, he directed federal agencies to prioritize domestic mineral production.
In April, the President launched a Section 232 investigation into national security risks tied to mineral imports, and in June, he mandated tighter coordination among agencies funding energy and mining projects.
The U.S. investment in Trilogy Metals, which includes warrants to acquire another 7.5% of the company, is yet another Washington foray into direct equity ownership of resource producers.
It follows recent government stakes in Lithium Americas and MP Materials, part of a strategy to rebuild supply chains critical to defense and energy transition technologies while reducing reliance on Chinese-controlled production.
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