The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Arctic Project, a copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver deposit in Alaska's Ambler Mining District, according to a statement from Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE American: TMQ).

The Arctic Project is held by Ambler Metals LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between Trilogy Metals and South32 Limited (ASX, LSE, JSE: S32; ADR: SOUHY). The NOI formally initiates environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and opens a public scoping phase, during which the USACE will accept comments from the public, local residents, Tribes, and other stakeholders to identify issues and alternatives to be analyzed in the EIS.

The USACE received Ambler Metals' Clean Water Act Section 404 permit application on April 20, 2026, and is the project's lead federal agency. The NOI represents the first key federal milestone on a permitting schedule published on the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council's Permitting Dashboard in July 2026. The schedule targets a draft EIS in October 2027 and a Record of Decision in September 2028, with overall permitting completion targeted for November 2028.

The review is being conducted under the FAST-41 permitting framework, with an estimated 29-month integrated federal and state timetable running concurrently with State of Alaska and Northwest Arctic Borough permitting processes.

Tony Giardini, President and CEO of Trilogy Metals, said: "Reaching the Notice of Intent on schedule underscores the discipline and coordination that FAST-41 brings to the Arctic Project. This milestone launches the NEPA review and public scoping phase and keeps us on a timeline to a Record of Decision in September 2028 – materially ahead of the historical norm for comparable federal reviews."

Ron Rimelman, President of Ambler Metals, stated: "We welcome this thorough public process as an opportunity to continue to demonstrate our commitment to meeting the highest environmental standards and ensuring Alaskans benefit from this development."