PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The US Department of Interior’s (DoI’s) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) this week filed a response to court briefings lodged by TSX- and NYSE-listed Trilogy Metals and its Ambler Metals joint venture (JV) partners.

Amber Metals is involved in a legal stoush with the US government regarding the development of a 340-km controlled industrial access road, which would give access to mineral deposits in north-western Alaska, where Trilogy Metals and JV partner South32 are active.

The DoI in February filed a motion to remand the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) and to suspend the right-of-way permits issued to the Alaksa Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) for the Ambler access project.

The DoI said that the suspension of the road permit would allow for additional supplemental work on the FEIS.

In mid-March 2022, the BLM and the DoI suspended the right-of-way (RoW) grant and the RoW permit to AIDEA relating to the Ambler access project over federal land while it conducts further analysis and consultation.

While the suspension decisions are in place: AIDEA may not conduct any activities that rely on the authority of the RoW permits, the terms and conditions of the RoW permits are tolled, and all rental fee obligations are suspended. The suspension does not preclude AIDEA from applying for special use permits to conduct activities on the lands subject to the RoW permits or granted pursuant to applicable law or authority other than the suspended RoW permits.

On March 22, the state of Alaska, AIDEA, Ambler Metals and NANA Regional Corporation, filed briefs in opposition to the DoI’s motion for a voluntary remand. 

In its brief, Ambler Metals stated that it did not oppose the voluntary remand motion subject to no vacatur or termination of the permits, the remand must be completed within nine months, that there must be status updates to the court every 60 days during the remand period, and that the DoI must lodge the administrative record within 30 days of issuing any new decision. 

Also on March 22, the plaintiffs filed a motion asking the court to deny the motion for voluntary remand without vacatur of the permits and either allow merits briefing to proceed or simply vacate the Federal Defendants reviews and decisions.

In its quarterly report for the three months ended February, Trilogy noted that the US government had argued against voluntary remand and argued that vacatur of the decisions was not appropriate.

Trilogy told shareholders that the Federal defendants also argued that the court should retain jurisdiction, but disagreed with arguments requesting a court-imposed schedule. The Federal Defendants propose filing a status report every 90 days.