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Red Dog Mine
Underlying the Red Dog Mine partnership is an operating agreement between NANA and Teck with a management committee composed of six people from NANA and six from Teck .
Red Dog Projects
The main tailings dam and back dam final lift are being prepped with a plan for completion in 2024 , a permit for an Aktigiruq and Anarraaq exploration access road is being worked on and one of the concentrate storage buildings is getting a new roof and wall panels .
Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects ( UKMP )
Like the agreement at Red Dog , NANA has an exploration agreement and option to lease with Ambler Metals for the UKMP which includes an oversight committee . The oversight committee is composed of four people each from NANA and Amber Metals .
Ambler Metals , a partnership between South32 and Trilogy Metals , began its summer field program with the camp opening on May 9 and fully staffed by early June . The program includes approximately 33,000 feet of drilling and around 4,000 soil
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samples . The focus areas of drilling are on the Arctic Deposit to advance the pre-feasibility work as well as additional exploration in the district around Arctic and Bornite . There is also pre-feasibility engineering work being done on the Arctic Deposit and continued environmental studies .
Ambler Metals has visited or plans to visit most of the NANA region communities between May and August . They are providing an update on the Ambler Access Project , the upcoming UKMP field season , the Arctic project permitting , workforce development and scholarships .
The copper , zinc , gold , lead , silver and cobalt present in the Ambler Mining District , which includes UKMP , may provide a means to maintain a sustainable economy , improve communication connectivity and lower the costs of living for generations into the future . Additionally , these metals are critical for society to transition to renewable energy and technologies , such as electric vehicles .
State Lands Aktigiruq and Anarraaq Exploration Program ( AAEP )
The focus of the 2022 Aktigiruq and Anarraaq Exploration Program drill program is to gain
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a better understanding of the Aktigiruq and Anarraaq deposits , also known as AAEP . By further exploring these two zinc deposits , Teck will have a better idea of the zinc-lead content within each deposit and the geological controls gather additional environmental baseline data and determine the extent of the mineralization . These studies will help determine the viability of potential mining . It will take several more years to reach a decision point .
As part of the exploration program , Teck applied for a permit with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to build a 10-mile road extension to the Aktigiruq and Anarraaq deposits , along with related facilities and bridges .
You can learn more about the program in the latest issue of Red Dog – Suvisi newsletter at https :// www . teck . com / media / SUVISI _ RED-DOG _ Q2 _ 6- 2022 _ 12-WEB . pdf .
Ambler Access Project
On May 18 , the United States District Court for Alaska granted the U . S . Department of Interior ’ s ( DOI ’ s ) motion for a voluntary remand of the joint record of decision ( JROD ) on the Ambler Access Project . A voluntary remand means to give the proceeding back to the agency
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so that it can conduct further administrative action .
The JROD , announced on July 23 , 2020 , was issued by the Bureau of Land Management that authorizes a right-of-way across federally managed lands to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to construct a limited access , 211-mile road to the Ambler Mining District .
The DOI ’ s intention for the remand is to conduct additional analysis of potential impacts on subsistence and the environment and engage in additional government-togovernment consultation with tribes regarding cultural sites .
NANA is an intervenor-defendant in the case . NANA is not in favor of the DOI ’ s request for voluntary remand but applauds the court ’ s decision not to cancel the JROD . The JROD and the processes it lays out ensure that communities along the proposed road corridor will have a strong voice in how any road project would move forward .
The court agreed with NANA ’ s request to retain jurisdiction over the case and to require the DOI to provide status reports every 60 days .
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