It also outlines a plan to create a special entity to manage the project. It mentions the possibility of building spur roads to nearby villages. And it calls for establishing a subsistence committee made up of local tribal members and Native corporation shareholders.
The agreement is nonbinding, which means the parties are not legally obligated to uphold it. But it lays a foundation for a more definitive future deal, and it indicates that NANA and Doyon may now see a path forward for the project.
Those businesses previously had expressed concerns that the state agency promoting the road, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, had not been adequately considering their interests.
The companies now “agree to negotiate in good faith towards the entry into definitive agreements for the development of the Ambler Road,” the agreement says.
In a January letter to shareholders, a NANA executive said the agreement does not represent a formal change in the company’s position on the project.
Northern Journal contributor Max Graham can be reached at max@northernjournal.com. He’s interested in any and all mining related stories, as well as introductory meetings with people in and around the industry.
This article was originally published in Northern Journal, a newsletter from Nathaniel Herz. Subscribe at this link.
