President Donald Trump has approved the construction of a 211-mile industrial road to Alaska’s Ambler Mining District, reviving a project canceled under the Biden administration.
The Ambler Road Project, running through the Brooks Range foothills, will provide access to major deposits of copper, cobalt, gallium, and other critical minerals in northwest Alaska.
According to the White House, the president approved the appeal of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and directed federal agencies to reissue permits needed to begin construction. The administration found the project in the public interest, citing the nation’s reliance on foreign minerals.
“For me, this is 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 we’re talking about,” Mr. Trump said from the Oval Office, per the Washington Times.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the road will strengthen U.S. defense and energy industries. “These minerals are absolutely essential to the defense industry,” he said, calling the Ambler region “one of the richest copper locations in the country.”
The 2020 permits were revoked in 2024 by the Biden administration over environmental concerns, including potential harm to the Western Arctic caribou herd and indigenous communities.
The revived project includes a $35.6 million federal investment with Trilogy Metals, making the U.S. government a 10% shareholder with warrants for another 7.5%. The project is expected to create 2,730 jobs and generate $1.1 billion in state revenue from mining taxes and royalties.
“They undid it and wasted a lot of time and a lot of money,” Trump said. “Now we’re starting again, and this time, it’s going to be done properly.”
The administration said the road aligns with the president’s broader “energy dominance” agenda and recent executive actions to boost domestic mineral production.