Published: April 21, 2026 |

Aiming to continue advancing those remaining permits and licenses, BMC said it is targeting a final investment decision in late 2027.

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BMC Minerals on April 13 reported that it has received a positive decision document for the proposed ABM Mine at its Kudz Ze Kayah Project in Yukon, allowing the company to move ahead with the remaining permits and licenses needed to advance the project toward a final investment decision.

“BMC is very pleased to see the re-issuance of the positive decision document after the completion of additional consultation between the Kaska First Nations and the Decision Bodies. The additional terms and conditions in the decision document reflect the consultation efforts of all parties and are reasonable, workable and fully supported by BMC,” said BMC Managing Director and CEO Michael McClelland.

Located about 115 kilometers (71 miles) southeast of Ross River in south-central Yukon, the Kudz Ze Kayah Project is a 372-square-kilometer (144 square miles) polymetallic project that hosts the ABM and Kona deposits and ranks as BMC’s key development asset.

Since acquiring the project in 2015, BMC has focused much of its work on ABM, a volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit rich in silver, zinc, copper, lead, and gold that the company has advanced through drilling, technical studies, and permitting.

Supporting development plans already advanced by BMC at ABM, a feasibility study completed in 2020 outlined a nominal 2 million-metric-ton-per-year mine in which roughly 89 percent of reserves would be mined by open pit, with underground development extending into the deeper portions of the deposit.

Based on ore reserves, the mine is expected to produce 32.2 million silver-equivalent oz annually over an initial nine-year mine life from three concentrate streams — high precious metals, copper, and zinc, with binding offtake agreements already secured for 95 percent of output from those concentrates across the first five years of planned production.

With that development groundwork already in place, the latest announcement marks a key permitting step for the proposed ABM Mine.

Issued by the Government of Yukon, Natural Resources Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the positive decision document follows a 2020 recommendation from the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board that the project be allowed to proceed.

Building on earlier decision documents issued in 2022 and 2024, the new document comes after additional consultation ordered by the Yukon Court of Appeal in December 2024 between the decision bodies and Kaska First Nations on the issue of project economic viability.

Included in the decision document are 52 terms and conditions and two monitoring requirements, including ten new terms tied to that additional consultation.

Those additions cover five areas — financial oversight, operational performance, the existing socio-economic participation agreement with Ross River Dena Council and Liard First Nation, heritage resources, and road access — none of which are expected to have a significant impact on project economics.

Under the new terms, BMC will take on additional reporting requirements tied to the first two areas, engage on the existing SEPA, and allow road access to persons exercising Indigenous or treaty rights.

With the decision document now issued, formal applications already submitted to the Yukon Water Board for a type A water license, a quartz mining license, and other authorizations required to develop and operate the proposed mine can now move ahead through the regulatory process.

Aiming to continue advancing those remaining permits and licenses, BMC said it is targeting a final investment decision in late 2027, subject to receipt of permits.

Source: North of 60

BMC Minerals is a mineral exploration company with significant exposure to both precious and base metals prices, particularly silver, zinc, copper, lead and gold. The key asset of BMC is the Kudz Ze Kayah Project located in the Finlayson Lake District of south-eastern Yukon, Canada and is wholly owned by the company. BMC’s directors and management team have extensive international experience in mining, specifically in the discovery, development and operation of base and precious metal mines.

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