US government takes 10% equity stake in Trilogy Metals for $35.6M Ambler District investment

On October 6, 2025 — the same day President Trump approved the Ambler Road project — the U.S. Department of War, through the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisitions and Sustainment and the Office of Strategic Capital, signed a binding letter of intent with Trilogy Metals Inc., South32 Limited, and Ambler Metals LLC for a strategic investment of approximately $35.6 million in the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Alaska's Ambler Mining District. The DOW invested $17.8 million in Trilogy Metals in exchange for 8,215,570 units — each consisting of one common share plus three-quarters of a 10-year warrant exercisable at $0.01 per share — making the U.S. government a 10% shareholder in the Canadian-listed company and giving it warrants to acquire an additional 7.5%. A parallel $17.8 million was committed to South32 for an equivalent equity position plus a call option. The investment was synchronized with Trump's Ambler Road approval, which would provide the surface access required to develop Trilogy's Arctic and Bornite copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver deposits.