Ambler will focus on drilling additional 7,600m at the Arctic project

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The investment will be completely funded by Ambler Metals. (Credit: Alex Banner from Pixabay)

Ambler Metals, the joint venture company equally owned by Trilogy and South32, has announced an investment of nearly $27m to advance the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects (UKMP) in Northwestern Alaska, US.

The investment will be completely funded by Ambler Metals.

Under the new programme, Ambler will focus on drilling additional 7,600m at the Arctic project, to extract additional material for metallurgical work and convert mineral resources into the measured category.

The metallurgical programme is associated with the drilling is expected to support the variability test work and pilot plant work which is anticipated to begin later in 2021.

Ambler Metals is expected to submit the permit applications for the programme during the second half of 2021.

Ambler to focus on exploration along Ambler VMS belt

Ambler Metals said that its exploration efforts will continue along the Ambler VMS belt, following up from the work performed in 2019, to discover and define additional deposits that may feed Arctic mill in future.

Also, the firm intends to conduct a 7,000m regional exploration drill campaign at the Sunshine prospect and at other drill-ready targets

The drilling is expected to start from mid-July 2021 and finish before the end of September 2021, preceded by detailed geologic mapping, geochemical soil sampling, and ground geophysics, said the company.

The Ambler Metals joint venture was formed in February, with Trilogy contributing all its assets associated with the 172,675ha UKMP, including the Arctic and Bornite projects.

South32 contributed $145m, which are expected to be used to advance the Arctic and Bornite projects, along with exploration in the Ambler mining district.

Trilogy president and CEO Tony Giardini said: “I am extremely excited that the Ambler Metals joint venture has attracted experienced talent to advance the world class Arctic project to the next level. This starts with formalizing the budget for the 2021 program at the UKMP.

“The proposed budget is expected to have a twofold positive impact for the Company in that we will continue to de-risk the Arctic Project and we will also move forward in unlocking the mineral potential within the 100-km-long VMS Mineral Belt as well as around the Bornite copper-cobalt deposit.

“I am also pleased in that Ambler Metals is making positive progress towards the commencement of permitting of the Arctic Project.”