Today’s Key Takeaways: Happy National Miners Day! Ambler Road parent company increases in value. Trumps second chance with ANWR. Backstop approved for AKLNG. “political pendulum swings” in favor of Alaska mining.
NEWS OF THE DAY:
Mining company angling for Ambler Road surges in value after Trump’s election
Nathaniel Herz, Northern Journal, December 5, 2024
Donald Trump’s election has boosted a company that’s seeking to build a mine at the end of Alaska’s proposed Ambler road — suggesting that investors expect the new administration to resurrect the stalled development.
Trilogy Metals, which owns half of a joint venture, Ambler Metals, that hopes to develop the Bornite and Arctic deposits on the south side of the Brooks Range, saw its stock price double after Trump’s win.
One share of the company cost 57 cents just before the Nov. 5 election. It was selling at $1.14 on Wednesday — down from $1.35 on Nov. 21, its highest price in more than two years.
“Things are definitely looking a lot better for us than they were about a week or two ago,” Ambler Metals’ managing director, Kaleb Froehlich, said at a Resource Development Council conference in Anchorage last month, shortly after the election. “We do have sort of an opportunity window in Washington, D.C. starting in January.”
It’s a major reversal of fortune for the companies after setbacks during the Biden administration.
Ambler Metals aims to tap into deposits of copper and cobalt near the Northwest Alaska villages of Ambler, Shungnak and Kobuk. The area has long been eyed for mineral development, but it’s remote, and to mine the deposits profitably, an access road is considered crucial.
OIL:
Trump gets second chance to drill ANWR. Will oil companies bite?
Heather Richards, E & E News, December 4, 2024
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which may hold 10 billion barrels of crude, has remained untapped.
President-elect Donald Trump will get another try to unleash drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during his second term, but oil production won’t come easy.
The success of a potential drilling campaign may depend on whether North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) — Trump’s pick for Interior secretary — prioritizes Alaska oil and gas issues and whether his staff members are skilled at unraveling Biden administration rules crafted to hamper drilling in the Arctic.
GAS:
Alaska development agency moves to provide $50M commitment to LNG project
Alex DeMarban, Anchorage Daily News, December 5, 2024
An Alaska development agency on Wednesday moved to provide a commitment of $50 million that will act like an insurance policy to allow the long-challenged Alaska LNG project to move ahead.
Board members with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority said they agreed to provide the support as a financial “backstop” to allow the project to complete a first phase to deliver gas to Alaskans.
The commitment, which may not need to be paid, is designed to allow a private pipeline company to spend up to $50 million in engineering and design studies needed for the initial phase of the $44 billion project.
MINING:
Will Alaska mining surge under Trump 2.0?
Shane Lasley, December 6, 2024
President-elect vows to maximize Alaska’s mining potential; an aligned Congress swings political pendulum in industry’s favor.
With an incoming president that favors “reshoring” over “friendshoring” the nation’s critical mineral supply chains and a Congress positioned to pass permitting reform and other mining-related legislation that has stalled in one chamber or the other for more than a decade, America’s mining sector is poised for growth following the outcome of the Nov. 5 election.
“We are going to have a federal government – with the Senate, with the House, with the White House – that’s going to be fully backing our mining industry,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said during a Nov. 6 impromptu address to a group of attendees at the Alaska Miners Association annual convention in Anchorage.
Considering that just two days later, President-elect Trump sent a video message vowing “to ensure Alaska can take advantage of every opportunity to explore and develop its tremendous resources,” The Last Frontier state’s mining sector seems especially well-positioned for backing from Washington.
“During my second term, we will continue the fight for Alaska like never before,” he said during the Nov. 8 address to Alaskans. “We will maximize Alaska’s mining potential.”
Trump also said his administration will ensure that the proposed 800-mile pipeline, which would connect the roughly 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas on Alaska’s North Slope to domestic and export markets, gets built and that defense spending in the state will increase.
“President Trump’s address to the nation regarding Alaska means this president recognizes not only the mineral resource potential of Alaska and what it can do for our nation, but that he also recognizes the geopolitical importance of Alaska as an Arctic nation and as a nexus for the entire North Pacific region,” Contango Ore President and CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse told Mining News.