First proposed mine along Alaska’s controversial Ambler Road enters critical new phase
Gates of the Arctic National Park, AK
Carl Johnson
Public gets just 45 days to weigh in on a mine that could help drive industrial development across Alaska’s Arctic
ANCHORAGE, Alaska [Sept. 18, 2026 ]— For the first time, the public will have a formal opportunity to weigh in on a proposed mine along the controversial Ambler Road. The massive open-pit mining project would cause irreparable damage to the Kobuk River and the larger Brooks Range.
Beginning today, the public has 45 days to tell the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers what impacts it must examine as it begins its environmental review of the Arctic Mine, which is owned by Canadian and Australian mining interests.
The comment period comes after a year of federal actions advancing mining and road development in Alaska’s Arctic wilderness without formal public comment. While the public has previously weighed in on the proposed Ambler Road, this is the first formal public-comment period specifically focused on the mine. However, the stakes extend far beyond the boundaries of the Arctic Mine.
“The Arctic Mine and the decisions made here could set the stage for what comes next,” said Matt Jackson, Alaska senior manager for The Wilderness Society. “The mine and Ambler Road are two pieces of the same massive industrial development. The mine needs the road, and the road is being built solely to serve mines like Arctic. Together, they would fragment and pollute a huge swath of one of America’s wildest landscapes. Future generations of Americans deserve the freedom to experience vast, wild public lands like the Brooks Range, not inherit a landscape permanently transformed for the benefit of private industry.”
The Arctic Mine would be the first major mine served by the proposed Ambler Road, which would stretch 211 miles from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District and cross Gates of the Arctic National Preserve. Once built, the industrial-access-only road will make it easier for additional mines across the district, potentially turning a largely undeveloped landscape into an industrial corridor.
The mine is expected to operate for roughly 13 years, but its impacts could last far longer. The proposed development sits in the Kobuk River watershed, where communities have depended on clean water, fish, caribou and other subsistence resources for generations.
The public-comment period also comes as significant questions remain about the infrastructure needed to make mining in the remote district possible, including who will ultimately pay to build, finance and maintain the Ambler Road.
The public-comment period runs from Sept. 18 through Nov. 2.
Contact Chelsi Moy at cmoy@tws.org or newsmedia@tws.org
