Biden set to block Alaska road key to accessing planned mine

Biden set to block Alaska road key to accessing planned mine

The Biden administration is set to block a controversial road crucial to operating a planned copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska, saying it would threaten Indigenous communities and fragment wildlife habitat, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The expected decision on Ambler Road reflects the administration’s selective approach toward boosting domestic mining of minerals used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other clean-energy technologies. It underscores the challenges facing President Biden as he balances an ambitious climate agenda with the need to protect vulnerable communities and pristine wilderness.

The timing of the move, which was first reported by Politico, is still in flux, although it could come as soon as this week, according to the two people familiar with the matter. An Interior spokesman declined to comment.

Interior is expected to find that there should be “no action” on the federal land where the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) wants to build the 211-mile Ambler Road. That would prevent AIDEA from receiving a permit to build the road, and it would effectively block the mining venture Ambler Metals from accessing the planned open-pit mine. The company has yet to seek or obtain permits for the mine.

AIDEA had planned for Ambler Road to extend 211 miles, crossing 11 major rivers and breaking apart unspoiled tundra. Twenty-six of those miles would have carved through Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, sending giant trucks rumbling through wild lands where tens of thousands of caribou migrate.

The Trump administration approved a right-of-way permit for Ambler Road in 2020, saying it could provide access to significant copper and cobalt deposits. But after Biden took office, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland ordered a fresh review of the road, saying the prior administration had not adequately studied its environmental impact.

In an analysis released last year, Interior’s Bureau of Land Management found that the road would threaten Alaska Natives and their lifestyles more than previously thought. The agency identified 66 communities whose hunting, fishing and other subsistence activities could be affected, up from 27 communities in a highly contested 2020 analysis completed during the Trump administration.

Interior also warned that the road would alter the movement and migration of caribou and other animals, partly because of vehicle noise. With climate change and development already putting pressure on caribou herds, the road could reduce calving and survival rates, the analysis said.

Ambler Metals has maintained that construction of the road would bring well-paying jobs to local communities, and that the project would bolster U.S. supply chains for minerals used in clean-energy technologies. The mining venture wants to extract roughly $7.5 billion worth of copper, a crucial ingredient in solar panels, wind turbines, power cables and energy storage systems.

Kaleb Froehlich, managing director of Ambler Metals, said in a statement Tuesday that he was “stunned” by media reports that Interior may block Ambler Road.

“If true, this decision ignores the support of local communities for this project, while denying jobs for Alaskans and critical revenues for a region where youth are being forced to leave because of a lack of opportunity,” Froehlich said.

Randy Ruaro, executive director of AIDEA, said in a statement that the project “adheres to stringent environmental standards.” He suggested that AIDEA, which has sued the administration over its suspension of oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, could challenge the decision on Ambler Road in court.

In a social media post Tuesday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) slammed the administration for denying a domestic mining venture while supporting mining in mineral-rich African countries.

“The Biden administration’s current mineral policies in a nutshell: If the Ambler Access Project was in Africa, they’d probably be supporting it and subsidizing it,” Murkowski wrote. “But since it’s in Alaska, and some of it crosses federal land, they’re politicizing and rejecting it.”

The Biden administration has thrown its weight behind other domestic mines for critical minerals in recent months. The Energy Department last month announced a conditional $2.26 billion loan for the developer of the Thacker Pass lithium mine in northern Nevada. The site contains the largest proven reserves of lithium, a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries, in North America.

“We need that lithium, and I think it can be done and extracted in an environmentally sensitive way,” John D. Podesta, senior adviser to the president for international climate policy, said during a climate summit hosted by Washington Post Live last week.

Last year, however, Interior finalized a 20-year ban on mining in a wilderness area in Minnesota. Officials said they determined that potential toxic leaching from copper, nickel and other hard-rock mining would threaten the local watershed, Indigenous communities and the outdoor recreation economy.