Based on coverage from The Star, wallstreet-online.de, and Times Colonist.
British Columbia’s push to keep one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold mines on track just hit a legal speed bump.
The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled the province failed to properly consult the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation (TSKLH) before deciding Seabridge Gold’s KSM project had been “substantially started” in 2024. That label matters because it can keep the project’s environmental assessment certificate alive indefinitely, instead of forcing the company back through a long review process.
B.C. Supreme Court orders new consultation
Justice Emily Burke upheld the reasonableness of the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) decision that KSM was substantially started, but found the consultation with TSKLH fell short of the province’s constitutional duty.
The court is sending the decision back for reconsideration. The EAO must give TSKLH a specific 90-day window to provide written submissions on whether KSM was substantially started, and then the EAO has to reconsider the determination.
The ruling also makes clear what it does not do: Burke said it does not give TSKLH a “veto” over the mine’s proposed tailings facility. But she also said the consultation record left the province relying on “critically incomplete” information.
KSM mine in B.C.’s Golden Triangle
KSM is planned for the mineral-rich “Golden Triangle” in northwestern B.C., about 65 kilometres from Stewart. The deposit includes gold, copper, silver, and molybdenum.
The project is huge on paper: Seabridge puts the cost at roughly $8 billion. Plans include four open pits and two underground mines, plus twin 23-kilometre tunnels under a mountain range to move crushed ore, distribute electricity, and transport fuel and people. Those tunnels would connect the mine site to a large tailings facility.
Burke noted the proposed tailings reservoir would be among the largest in North America, writing that it could be as deep as the New York Times Tower is tall.
Both the B.C. and federal governments have designated KSM a “critical mineral project.” Seabridge argues it would help supply copper and other minerals needed for lower-carbon technologies and renewable energy, and estimates the mine could inject $47.9 billion into B.C.’s economy over 52 years.
Why “substantially started” is crucial
B.C. issued KSM its original environmental assessment certificate in 2014. The project has received multiple extensions since then. The latest extension expires July 29, 2026, and was granted during the COVID-19 pandemic to give the proponent more time to secure a deep-pocketed partner.
The “substantially started” determination is the escape hatch from that ticking clock. If a project is deemed substantially started, the environmental certificate does not expire, and the proponent avoids restarting a lengthy regulatory process.
Seabridge says it has spent nearly $1.2 billion on KSM so far, including $444 million between 2021 and 2023 on work such as clearing trees, building roads, and developing a switching station for a transmission line.
TSKLH territory claims and consultation breakdown
TSKLH, led by Chief Darlene Simpson, argues the province effectively greenlit the project without meaningfully involving them. Simpson said her nation has 56 members and fears its rights are slowly being extinguished.
A key part of the dispute is territory. An updated ethnographic report delivered in 2021 (425 pages, with maps and historical records) describes TSKLH’s traditional territory across parts of northwestern B.C., including watersheds and the area where KSM proposes a mine waste facility. The report also documents traditional land use, including hunting, trapping, berry picking, and fishing sites downstream of the proposed tailings pond.
In 2023, a regional executive director in B.C.’s north area wrote to TSKLH acknowledging that “all evidence suggests” the proposed mine waste facility sits on TSKLH traditional territory. But Burke’s ruling describes how, as Seabridge sought the “substantially started” decision in early 2024, provincial correspondence later downplayed earlier acknowledgements and denied it reflected a revised strength-of-claim assessment.
TSKLH was told on July 19, 2024 its views would be put before the decision-maker. The project was declared substantially started six days later.
What happens next for Seabridge and B.C.
The court dismissed a second petition from SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, which argued the “substantially started” designation was unreasonable because too little had been built. Seabridge said it is satisfied the court upheld key aspects of the 2024 decision, and CEO Rudi Fronk said work at the site will continue while the province consults and reconsiders.
B.C.’s environment ministry said the EAO had received the decision and is reviewing it to determine implications and next steps. The province did not say whether it would appeal, or how it will manage the looming July 29, 2026 certificate expiry while the reconsideration plays out.
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