Valhalla Metals gears up for Sun summer exploration, Alaska

Valhalla Metals Inc. [VMXX-TSXV] provided an update on its Alaska projects and the Ambler mining district access road.

The company is currently preparing for a summer exploration program at its flagship Sun project, northwest Alaska. This year’s exploration program is planned to include a 24-man camp full re-build and expansion, ground gravity, LiDAR survey and diamond core drilling. The company has entered into several service agreements with contractors that would support the execution of its exploration program. Valhalla expects to kick off the camp re-build efforts sometime end of May, weather dependent.

The company also is pleased to announce that the North Slope Borough Assembly and Northwest Arctic Borough Assembly have passed a joint resolution in support of the Ambler Access Project.

These two borough governments are local home-rule governments in Alaska whose primary goal is to provide residents with the same basic services enjoyed by other Americans, such as public safety and fire protection programs, schools, search and rescue capabilities, water and sewer services, planning and zoning, health and social service programs.

Providing these services and the physical infrastructure to support their region remain expensive measures for the borough. These boroughs who maintain planning and permitting authority for their respective regions passed a joint resolution in support of timely completion of the Department of the Interior’s supplemental environmental review process for the Ambler Access Project, the proposed 211-mile, industrial-use-only road from the Ambler Mining District to the Dalton Highway (Ambler Access Road).

In their joint resolution, the two borough governments stated that the construction portion of the Project has the potential to facilitate responsible economic development for operations and maintenance, and the potential to create over 8,700 direct, indirect, and induced construction and operation jobs. These jobs would pay a total of nearly $700 million in annual wages, in addition to an annual average of 360 direct jobs over the project period, and up to 81 direct annual jobs for operations and maintenance over the life of the Project.

The proposed Ambler Access Road is planned to cross Valhalla’s State mining claims at the Sun project and would unlock a host of critical and strategic metals located in the Ambler Mining District – all metals necessary for the green energy and transportation transition.

Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, Valhalla’s Chairman, stated: “It is great to see and hear the support from the Northwest Arctic Borough and North Slope Borough. These are two local home-rule governments representing the people of these communities. Their support for responsible resource development must be heard. Valhalla looks forward to the Federal Government’s expedited Supplemental EIS process and re-instatement of the permits necessary to advance the Ambler Access Project. We are also pleased to be drilling again in the Ambler district – one of the largest and prolific VMS districts in the world. We look forward to keeping investors appraised of our progress.”

As previously disclosed, the company’s interest in 11 of the 58 mining claims of the Smucker Property was subject to an ongoing dispute between Valhalla Mining LLC, Teck Resources, and the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

In November 2018, Teck and DNR notified Valhalla Mining that 11 of the 58 mineral claims comprising the Smucker property were invalid to the extent of those claims over-lapped the old Teck claims block at Smucker.

Valhalla Mining succeeded in its claims to quiet title to the disputed mining claims in April 2021 at the Alaska Superior Court; however, the Court’s decision was appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court by Teck and DNR on April 27, 2021.

In a decision dated April 21, 2023, the Alaska Supreme Court decided to reverse the Alaska Superior Court’s decision and affirm DNR’s decision.

Valhalla’s flagship project is the Sun copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver VMS projects located in Ambler Mining District, Northwest Alaska. The company also owns the Smucker project, a high-quality copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver VMS project located in the Ambler Mining District, Northwest Alaska.