Seabridge Gold says it supports the B.C. government’s response to a court challenge over its KSM mine project, after the province filed legal arguments defending the approval of the mine’s environmental status.
“We are pleased by the extent of the EAO’s consultation, and we are confident in the strength of their arguments that the EAO’s decision to grant the SS Designation was procedurally fair and not unreasonable,” said Seabridge CEO Rudi Fronk.
The company said it plans to submit its own response to the legal challenge in the coming weeks and confirmed that the substantial start designation remains in place throughout the court process.
In its filing to the B.C. Supreme Court, the provincial government detailed its consultation efforts and communications leading up to its July 29, 2024 decision that Seabridge’s KSM project had been “substantially started.”
The “substantial start” determination marks a critical milestone in the life of any major project approved under B.C.'s environmental review framework. Projects are typically granted a certificate that includes a deadline to begin construction or other development. If the province finds that enough progress has been made by that deadline, it issues a “substantially started” designation, allowing the certificate to remain in effect permanently. Without it, a project may lose its approvals and have to restart the entire environmental review process.
The Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation has asked the court to overturn the determination, claiming the province failed to meet its legal obligation to consult and accommodate the community. In its petition, the nation said the government had “effectively greenlit” what has been called the world’s largest undeveloped gold mining project without meaningful input from the community.
A statement from the nation warned that the project would use technology similar to that found in mines where toxic waste facility failures have caused “massive environmental devastation.”
Ryan Beaton, the lawyer representing the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation, said the nation will proceed with the judicial review, arguing that the province is ignoring evidence in its own report that supports the nation’s position. He said the community is not opposed to mining on principle and has previously supported projects developed responsibly on its territory.
“All we’re saying is let it be done in accordance with the law, and with the province’s respect [for] its own analysis of the evidence,” he said.
Beaton said the situation has been further complicated by the province’s questioning of whether the nation should be consulted independently, or as part of the greater Gitxsan Nation. He said this issue is contributing to a sense of dismissal.
The Gitxsan Treaty Society, which represents the Gitxsan peoples in treaty negotiations, has sent a letter to the province on behalf of the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation affirming it is an independent nation of equal status. The society stated that the Gitxsan Nation does not and cannot speak for the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha.
“From our point of view, it’s the province telling two nations that are distinct and independent, that they don’t recognize that, that they don’t accept that,” said Beaton. “It’s not the province’s place to tell First Nations who they are.”
A court hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 22 to 29, 2025.
