NEWSLETTER | FALL 2022
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT Dear Colleagues & Neighbors, Our camp at Bornite closed at the end of September after a safe and successful 2022 season. In the field, crews completed more than 35,000 ft of exploration drilling at Arctic, the Ambler Belt, and at Bornite. In addition, the exploration team collected nearly 4,000 soil samples and conducted extensive geologic mapping, which will greatly help us plan our future exploration campaigns. Our teams did this safely and with respectful environmental stewardship. As in the previous year, strict COVID-19 testing protocols were applied throughout the season. All positive test cases were dealt with either off site or at the camp without negatively impacting site activities.
President & CEO, Ramzi Fawaz, with children in Shungnak
understanding of our proposed mining project, as well as to talk about economic benefits that resource I am happy to say Ambler Metals and development and the proposed its contractors employed 56 NANA Ambler access road could bring to and Doyon shareholders during this year’s field season. Most were returning both regions. shareholders but we also welcomed Regarding the Ambler Access Project, new shareholder employees, which and since my last update in the 2022 bodes well for our plans to increase Spring Newsletter, the court has shareholder participation in future approved the Department of Interior’s stages of our project. request for a voluntary remand of the previously approved Environmental On August 2, 2022, we hosted several tribal leaders from villages in the Doyon Impact Statement. The remand work has commenced and is expected to and NANA regions for a visit to our be complete in 2023, at which time Bornite camp and to the proposed the EIS will be reinstated and the Arctic project. The visit provided a permitting and feasibility work on the great opportunity for the leaders to project can continue normally. come together and gain a first-hand
We continue to make good progress on engineering study work for the Arctic project and will be transitioning from pre-feasibility to the feasibility stage early next year. As before, we look forward to meeting and visiting with you in the region during the rest of this year and wish everyone a safe and blessed end-of-the-year festive season. Taikuu! Ramzi Fawaz President & CEO Ambler Metals LLC
AMBLER METALS | NEWSLETTER | FALL 2022
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT:
Samantha Horner
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Safety and Teamwork Mark a Successful Season Ambler Metals would like to thank our employees, contractors, and consultants for their contributions to a safe and successful 2022 field season.
Samantha Horner in Core Shack
Q: Where are you from? A: “I’m from and live in Kobuk.” Q: When did you first hear about the development of the Ambler mining district, Ambler Metals, and the opportunities associated with it? A: “I’ve known about the mining company since I was a kid. Attending the company picnics in the summers at Dahl Creek was the highlight of my childhood. After graduating high school, I heard about job shadowing at Bornite. I was able to participate in 2018 and learn about the different departments and job opportunities.” Q: You’re currently employed by Ambler Metals. Tell us a bit about your position and what you like about it? A: “I’m a geotechnician at Bornite. I love learning new tasks, such as receiving baskets from the helicopters and operating the bobcat.” Q: Have you taken advantage of other opportunities with Ambler Metals? “During the summer I had the opportunity to go to heavy equipment training sponsored by Ambler Metals and I absolutely loved it. I’m so grateful to Ambler Metals for giving me the chance to learn about something I love. I believe the training I received will open doors to more job opportunities for me in the future.”
Major Drilling provided three diamond drills to the project and completed 35,231 feet of diamond drilling, the most of any season in the project’s history. This includes 47 holes totaling 27,480 feet of drilling completed at Arctic. In addition to providing geotechnical information to assist with designing future pit walls, the data collected provides greater certainty about the mineral resource. Additionally, crews completed five exploration drilling holes (5,393 ft) in the Ambler VMS Belt, and two exploration drilling holes (2,358 ft) in the Cosmos Hills. Field exploration teams collected 3,919 soil samples and completed extensive geologic mapping across the region, which will help us to focus future exploration efforts on the most promising prospects. Ambler Metals camp job operations and maintenance personnel did a great throughout the season. They ensured that fuel and freight were delivered and that camp systems such as power generation kept running. With the assistance of NANA Construction, we replaced the abutments and decking on the Dahl Creek Bridge ensuring that it will be safe for years to come. Ambler Metals directly employed 64 seasonal employees this year, 34 of whom are NANA shareholders and two of whom are Doyon shareholders. Sixteen employees are from the Upper Kobuk villages of Kobuk, Shungnak, and Ambler while an additional eight employees live elsewhere in the Northwest Arctic Borough. Our contractors employed an additional 19 NANA Shareholders and one Doyon shareholder this year. Thanks again to everyone that made 2022 a safe and successful season.
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AMBLER METALS | NEWSLETTER | FALL 2022
Minerals Fueling Tomorrow The recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act by Congress holds exciting prospects for the Ambler mining district. This legislative action demonstrates a major commitment in expanding the domestic critical minerals supply chain in the United States. Not only will this help break the country’s mineral dependency on China, but it will also boost sustainable practices that contribute to a healthier planet.
solar power, and more. They are also the minerals found in products widely used in rural Alaska such as ATVs, snow machines, and generators. Two of those minerals, Zinc and Cobalt, are designated as critical minerals in the U.S. because they are key elements fueling the global shift toward clean energy technologies. The need for the responsible development of domestic critical mineral sites such as Arctic and Bornite could help support this transition.
What does this mean for Ambler Metals Arctic and Bornite deposits? Simply put - jobs that in turn spark a healthy local economy and provide the minerals needed Minerals power the future for a green, technically driven, renewable energy future. Minerals power everything in our lives. The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act is Why are critical minerals important? expected to reshape the American mining and energy industry and signals an investment Minerals are the building blocks of in mining and metals processing that has not advanced technologies and are essential to been seen since the Second World War. national security and economic prosperity. Elements such as Cobalt, Copper, Zinc, and As a nation, this new legislation incentivizes Silver - all of which are found in abundance the domestic production of critical minerals within the Ambler mining district, are the which are foundational for clean energy base driving the technical aspects of technologies such as solar, wind, carbon everyday products from computers and capture, and clean hydrogen. This constitutes mobile phones to household appliances, as a historic shift for the U.S. and the Ambler well as medical equipment, transportation, district is poised to help fill the technology fiber optics, semiconductors, aerospace, gap.
3700 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 101 Anchorage, Alaska 99503 Anchorage: (907) 339-8770 | Fairbanks: (907) 452-1941 AmblerMetals.com
Investing in the People of Alaska This summer Ambler Metals sponsored three students from the NANA and Doyon regions to attend surface equipment operator training at the Mining and Petroleum Training Services’ facility in Delta Junction. The two-week course introduced students to general equipment operation, safety practices, and employment/life skills. Ambler Metals believes in investing in young Alaskans by providing the resources and tools to explore professional opportunities and secure long-term employment close to home.
Summer Stakeholder Engagement We had a busy summer filled with community meetings, BBQ’s, spring clean-ups, tours of Bornite, and fun events across the region. The Ambler Metals team enjoyed seeing your familiar faces, meeting new friends, and building relationships. We sincerely appreciate every community’s hospitality.
Summer BBQ in Kobuk