am proud to have played a small part in its success. What do you love most about this business? And about Alaska? First of all, I truly love Alaska. It will always be my home, and I am so honored to have been born and raised in this great State. I love working in the resource development industry and the mining industry in particular because of all the great economic opportunities that it provides our entire state. I love the people and the natural beauty of Alaska. I always feel like Alaska is one small community, no matter where we are. Ambler faces significant challenges with the recent no-decision on the road. What is the path forward you see? The reason I joined Ambler Metals was because I believe in this project, and I also believe strongly in what this project means for Alaska. Alaska faces out-migration both from rural Alaska into our larger cities, but also out-migration from the State. To reverse this, we must ensure that we have job opportunities and economic development across our State. Ambler Metals will provide critical jobs for Alaska and critical economic opportunities that our state needs. The economic benefits will extend far beyond the road and mining district, creating trucking jobs, port job and jobs in adjacent businesses and sectors. These are good jobs that will help many Alaskans gain the economic footing they need to remain in Alaska. Because Alaska is a young state, we don’t have the infrastructure of other U.S. states. When I was Senator Murkowski’s Chief of Staff negotiating the Infrastructure Bill, I would often remind my colleagues that while they are working on infrastructure to renovate and replace existing infrastructure, we Alaskans were working on this bill to build infrastructure for the first time. It is really disappointing that Alaska has such difficulties building infrastructure and developing our resources, even infrastructure that’s written in law such as the surface transportation to the Ambler Mining District which was which was included in ANILCA by Senator Stevens. Where do you see mining in Alaska in 50 years? I truly hope that responsible resource development continues to be one of the pillars of Alaska’s economy in 50 years. The benefits that the resource development industry has provided our State are vast and the mining industry especially has a great opportunity to build upon that, whether it is Donlin, Manh Choh, or expansions at Red Dog and Greens Cre ek. As an Alaskan and an American, I strongly believe that we should be developing our resources here where we have some of the strictest environmental standards as well as workplace safety and oversight, rather than relying on countries who do not take human rights or environmental cleanup The Alaska Miner Summer 2024 18 Faces of Mining FACES, CONTINUED from PAGE 17 CONTINUED on PAGE 20 Ephraim and Kaleb Froehlich at their house in Juneau.
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