The mining industry and state of Alaska slammed the Biden administration's reported plan to block a controversial access road to a mining district, saying such a move is politically motivated, illegal and at odds with the need for domestic sources of key minerals.

In an environmental analysis due this week, the Interior Department planned to issue a "no action" recommendation for the proposed Ambler Road project, effectively blocking the 211-mile artery that would connect an existing highway to a remote area in northwestern Alaska where mining companies want to explore for copper and other minerals, according to media reports.

Such a decision would hand a victory to environmentalists who said the road threatens pristine Arctic habitat for caribou and fish and endangers drinking water for native tribes and rural communities.

But copper is a key mineral needed to build renewable energy sources to help combat climate change, which also threatens the Arctic.

The tension underscored the sometimes conflicting environmental goals of the Biden administration in an election year while also pitting native groups against each other.

Alaska Says Decision Would Violate Law

An executive with Ambler Metals — a joint venture between Canada-based Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN: TMQ) and Australia-headquartered South32 (OTC:SOUHY) that was exploring the mining district — said the company was "stunned" to hear that the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was planning to deny the access project.

"We strongly urge BLM to reconsider what would clearly be an unlawful and politically motivated decision that goes well beyond the narrow set of issues the courts agreed to allow the agency to address," Kaleb Froehlich, managing director of Ambler Metals, said in a statement.

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