Shares of Trilogy Metals tripled their gains in premarket trading on Tuesday after the White House said it would acquire a 10% stake in the Vancouver-based miner.
US-listed shares (TMQ) were at 5.69 dollars, valuing the company just shy of a 1billionDollars market capitalization.
Washington has been taking equity stakes in industries it considers essential to national security, including critical minerals and semiconductor companies, as part of President Donald Trump’s wider policy to reduce reliance on China.
The US government announced a 35.6 million dollars investment in Trilogy on Monday after markets closed and said it had received warrants to purchase an additional 7.5% stake.
Trump also signed an executive order directing his administration to permit construction of an access road to Alaska’s Ambler mining district, an area that could also yield deposits of rare earths.
The order overturns the Biden administration’s 2024 decision blocking a 211-mile road over concerns that mining could threaten caribou and fish vital to dozens of Native subsistence communities.
Trilogy, a key developer in the Ambler district, operates a joint venture there with Australia’s South32. Earlier on Tuesday, South32’s shares climbed as much as 6.1% to their highest since August 14.
“The federal backing and executive orders reduce political and regulatory uncertainty around the road/access for the Ambler Project,” a group of Royal Bank of Canada analysts led by Kaan Peker said in a note.
“While the timing of final permits, legal challenges and first production are uncertain, we believe this decision unlocks a major gating constraint; resulting in a higher probability for Ambler reaching development and hence higher option value for the project.”
