This Miner Stock Is Soaring 200% After the U.S. Takes a Stake

Trilogy Metals is developing mining projects in Alaska’s Ambler mining district, which contains deposits of copper, cobalt, gallium, germanium, and more. (Photo by ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Key Points

• The White House approves the Ambler Road Project to access Alaska’s mineral potential, including copper, cobalt, gallium, and germanium.
• The U.S. government invested $36.5 million in Trilogy Metals, acquiring a 10% stake and warrants for an additional 7.5%.
• Trilogy Metals’ shares surged following the White House announcement.

The Trump administration is getting more aggressive in addressing the country’s critical mineral needs. That is upending the mining business, and sending shares of a small Canadian miner soaring.

The White House late Monday approved the Ambler Road Project to “unlock Alaska’s mineral potential.” Ambler Road is a proposed industrial road stretching hundreds of miles from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District, which contains deposits of copper, cobalt, gallium, and germanium, among other metals.

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Trilogy Metals Source: FactSetAs of Oct. 7

Created with Highcharts 9.0.12025Oct.0123456$7

Included in the announcement was a $36.5 million investment in Vancouver, British Columbia-based Trilogy Metals , giving the U.S. Defense Department a 10% stake in the company. The government will take warrants to purchase an additional 7.5% of the stock.

Trilogy is a small-capitalization mining company, developing projects in the Ambler district. It doesn’t generate significant sales yet.

Shares skyrocketed 211% on Tuesday, closing at $6.50, a new all-time high and the largest one-day increase in the company’s history, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively**.**

“This proposed partnership with the U.S. Government represents a significant milestone for Trilogy Metals and for the development of a secure, domestic supply of critical minerals for America in Alaska,” said Trilogy CEO Tony Giardini. The investment “underscores the strategic importance of the [regional] projects in supporting U.S. energy, technology, and national security priorities.”

The investment follows a recent pattern for the Trump administration, which appears willing to use its substantial resources to ensure that supplies of materials, such as copper, needed to run a modern economy are produced in the U.S.

The Defense Department recently became the largest shareholder of rare earth miner MP Materials . Earlier this month, the Energy Department took a stake in lithium miner Lithium Americas.

MP produces mined material and rare earth magnets. Sales in 2025 are estimated to be $285 million, according to FactSet. Trilogy and Lithium America are earlier-stage companies. Neither one generates significant sales yet.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com