President Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the government to approve a 211-mile industrial road that would cut through pristine Alaskan wilderness to reach a proposed copper and zinc mine.
The president ordered the Interior Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue all necessary permits for the road, known as the Ambler Access Project, which was blocked last year by the Biden administration.
The Trump administration also said the government would invest $35.6 million in Trilogy Metals in exchange for a 10 percent stake in the Canadian company, which is headquartered in Vancouver. Trilogy Metals is a 50 percent owner of Ambler Metals, the company behind the contentious mining venture.
The order handed a major victory to the project’s proponents and continued the Trump administration’s pattern of taking investment stakes in private companies like the chipmaker Intel and the mining firm Lithium Americas.
During a signing ceremony in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump said he was “very familiar with” Alaska, which he called “an economic gold mine, so to speak.” He said the copper and zinc mine was “something that should have been long operating and making billions of dollars for our country and supplying a lot of energy and minerals.”
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said during the event that in addition to “drill, baby, drill,” the Trump administration’s mantra was “mine, baby, mine.” He said the order would help the United States compete with China, which dominates the global supply chain for critical minerals used in energy technologies and military applications.
While the White House wrote on social media that Mr. Trump “approves” the Ambler project, it is unclear just how quickly the project would get underway.
Legal experts said the administration was obligated to first repeal and then redo an environmental review completed under the Biden administration. That process could take more than year.
“The administration is legally required to take a number of steps and it does not appear that they have taken any of them to date,” said Bridget Psarianos, a senior staff attorney with Trustees for Alaska, a nonprofit group, in a statement.
Jim Adams, Alaska senior director for the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement that “this order is so atrocious, it’s nearly unbelievable. Our resolve is only strengthened to continue to fight the Ambler mining road, alongside partners from across the country.”
As proposed, the Ambler Access Project would consist of a two-lane gravel road that would stretch 211 miles through the Brooks Range foothills in northern Alaska. About 26 of those miles would cut through Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, requiring a federal permit. The road would also cross 11 rivers and thousands of streams before it reached the site of a future mine.
In its environmental review, the Biden administration found that the Ambler project could pollute spawning grounds for salmon and other species that Alaska Natives hunt and fish. The Interior Department in 2024 concluded that any version of an industrial road in the area would “significantly and irrevocably” hurt the environment and tribal communities.
Kaleb Froehlich, managing director of Ambler Metals, said in a statement that the company appreciated the administration’s support. He also pledged to partner with Alaska Native communities, several of which have expressed opposition to the project.
“We are committed to ensuring that local communities see real, lasting benefits from this road in the form of jobs, investment and opportunities for future generations,” Mr. Froehlich said. “The future of any project in this region will be built not only on plans and permits, but on partnership and shared purpose.”
In addition to the White House, Congress has sought to advance the Ambler project. In September, the House passed a resolution to repeal a Biden-era plan for limiting industrial development on federal lands in central and northern Alaska, including in the area where the road would be built.
Maxine Joselow covers climate change and the environment for The Times from Washington.
Lisa Friedman is a Times reporter who writes about how governments are addressing climate change and the effects of those policies on communities.
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