English
Spanish
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Chinese (Simplified)
Hindi
Japanese
Shares in small Canadian mining firm Trilogy Metals skyrocketed nearly 215% Tuesday after the US government said it would take a 10% stake in it.
The partnership includes a $35.6 million investment in the Vancouver-based company, which has just five employees, according to a White House fact sheet published Monday.
President Trump’s deal is an effort to unlock domestic supplies of copper and critical minerals to rival China’s reserves — Trilogy holds interest in two Alaska mineral projects, including the Ambler Road undertaking.
The White House is reversing the Biden administration’s rejection of the Ambler Road project, a 211-mile industrial road through the Alaskan wilderness that environmentalists have argued would harm landscapes and wildlife.
Trilogy said the project will provide domestic access to large deposits of copper, cobalt, zinc and lead across the more than 1,700 active mining claims in the area.
Those minerals are key to energy infrastructure, defense technologies and manufacturing, Trilogy argued.
“President Trump’s decision reflects a renewed federal commitment to responsible resource development in Alaska,” Trilogy said in a Monday statement.
Along with the 10% stake, the deal includes warrants for the US government to purchase an additional 7.5% of the company, according to the White House.
China currently dominates the critical minerals supply chain.
The nation produces nearly 70% of the world’s supply of rare earths, and processes about 90%.
US officials have warned that the country needs to quickly ramp up its supply, as demand for these minerals is expected to jump alongside the rise in clean energy projects.
In another step to broaden its domestic supply chain, the US last week announced it would take a stake in Lithium Americas, another Canadian mining company.
