South32 Hopeful Trump Will Allow Access to Alaska Copper Region

  • The miner plans further exploration in Ambler Mining District
  • Plans for road to area were blocked by Interior Department

Core samples at a drilling site in the Ambler Mining District in Alaska.

Photographer: Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post/Getty Images

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South32 Ltd. is optimistic the incoming Trump administration will open up access to a copper-rich region in northwest Alaska, where the Australian miner has development rights.

If the building of a controversial industrial road to the Ambler Mining District is approved, South32 and its venture partner Trilogy Metals Inc. would be able to mine high-grade copper from an already identified deposit and ramp up exploration work for new resources, according to Chief Executive Officer Graham Kerr.