Published: November 26, 2024 |

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Seabridge Gold said the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha (TSKLH) has filed a petition against the Province of British Columbia and relevant Ministries seeking judicial review of the determination by the chief executive assessment officer (CEAO), of the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) for Seabridge’s KSM Project which has been “substantially started”.

TSKLH is an Indigenous group claiming an extensive traditional territory in northwest British Columbia, including the area of the KSM Project, and it contests rights of the Nisga’a Nation and Tahltan Nation over the area of the eastern side of the KSM Project.

“Seabridge’s application for a ‘substantially started’ determination was widely supported by the communities of northwest British Columbia, including Indigenous communities. TSKLH were provided the relevant information early and participated in the Province’s review process, including submitting comments for the Province’s consideration,” said Seabridge Chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk.

“TSKLH may not agree with the ultimate ‘substantially started’ determination, but Seabridge is confident that there is ample evidence that the determination was reasonable. Seabridge plans to participate in defending the validity of the ‘substantially started’ determination and will be conferring with its legal counsel on the ways in which it may do so,” added Fronk.

In response to the company’s application submitted on January 16, 2024, the CEAO determined that the KSM Project was “substantially started” on July 25, 2024 (SS determination).

In its petition, TSKLH are seeking a declaration that the Province failed to fulfill its duty to consult TSKLH in respect of the SS determination and an order quashing the SS determination on the basis that the Province failed to fulfill its duty to consult, the Province failed to discharge its duty of procedural fairness and/or that the SS determination was unreasonable.

In its application, Seabridge set forth that it had completed or initiated construction of 94 of the 336 components of the KSM Project as described in its EAC and had spent $444 million on work in respect of such components.

As part of the SS determination process, Seabridge also submitted letters from representatives of the three largest Indigenous peoples in the area of the KSM Project, the Nisga’a Lisims Government, the Tahltan Central Government, and the Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs Office, as well as the Village of Hazelton, the District of New Hazelton, the Town of Smithers, the District of Stewart, the City of Terrace, the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine all expressing strong support for a positive SS determination for the KSM Project.

The SS determination is unaffected by the petition and will remain in place if the Province successfully defends the SS determination. Even if TSKLH is successful, a typical order in these circumstances would require the EAO to return to its “substantially started” determination process, either to expand consultation of TSKLH or reconsider the reasons for its determination, and then a fresh determination would be issued. Seabridge was advised that a final decision on the TSKLH petition could take a year or more.

Seabridge Gold holds a 100 percent interest in several North American gold projects. Seabridge’s principal asset, the KSM project, and its Iskut project, are located in Northwest British Columbia, Canada’s Golden Triangle, the Courageous Lake project located in Canada’s Northwest Territories, the Snowstorm project in the Getchell Gold Belt of Northern Nevada and the 3 Aces project set in the Yukon Territory.

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