President Trump yesterday signed an executive order to advance the Ambler mining projects, a 200+mile-long mining road in Alaska. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said construction on the gravel road will begin next spring and the road will be jointly owned by the state, federal government and Native Alaskan villages.
As part of the announcement, in the latest government dealmaking news, South32 is selling down its stake in Canadian exploration company Trilogy to the Defense Department, which will in turn take a 10% piece of the company. Trilogy and South32 jointly own the Ambler Metals project which is dependent on the Ambler mining road. The area includes deposits of copper, zinc, silver and other metals. South32 also owns a roughly 11% stake in Trilogy. Shares in Trilogy doubled in after-hours trading Monday.
And while its good news for South32 and Trilogy, the government yesterday shot down reports that it is considering buying a stake in Critical Metals, the company developing one of the world's largest rare earth resources in Greenland. On Friday, Reuters reported that Washington had been in talks over an equity investment in the company.
