Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeMiningNewsJudge orders review of key approval for $5-billion B.C. mine over First Nation consultation failuresThe KSM mine is being touted as one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold projects You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.An aerial view in 2020 of the Mitchell deposit, one of four in Seabridge Gold's KSM claim in remote northwestern B.C., where the company proposed to build a $6.7-million gold and copper mine.The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled that a key regulatory decision allowing the $5.3-billion KSM gold-and-copper mine to move ahead must be revisited because a First Nation wasn’t adequately consulted.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorIn July 2024, the province determined that the project had “substantially started,” meaning its environmental approval certificate remains in place for the life of the mine.The Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation and the SkeenaWild Conservation Trust had challenged the substantially started decision.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againIf a project is determined not to be substantially started, it must complete a new, lengthy environmental assessment.B.C. Supreme Court Justice Emily Burke ruled that before the Environment Ministry reconsiders the substantially started decision, the province must consult with the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation, giving them 90 days’ notice to present written submissions.The Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation (TSKLH), which has about 60 members, welcomed the decision.“We’re relieved the province is finally required to consult properly, based on its own conclusion that our territory bears the brunt of the environmental risks of the toxic waste dump for the world’s largest gold mine, threatening our pristine traditional waterways,” Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Chief Darlene Simpson said in a written statement.The KSM mine project, owned by Toronto-based Seabridge Gold and about 65 kilometres northwest of Stewart, in northwestern B.C., has been touted as one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-and-gold projects.Seabridge chairman and CEO Rudi Fronk said in a written statement that work at KSM would continue during the consultation process and reconsideration of the substantially started determination.“We will continue to execute our work plans for KSM and look forward to meeting with the (B.C. Environmental Assessment Office) to receive an update on their additional consultation activities in due course,” said Fronk.The judge’s 65-page ruling noted that Seabridge had spent $444 million on work between 2021 and 2023 on six of the 32 physical components of the project, including an access road, camps, mine-site roads, fish habitat compensation, power infrastructure including a transmission line, and other clearing and earthworks on the site.Burke also noted that other factors can be considered such as money expended, regulatory compliance and consultations.The judge didn’t rule on whether the province’s decision that the project was substantially started was unreasonable but noted the province has significant latitude in making its decision.Even with a substantially started determination, for the KSM project to proceed to full-scale construction it still needs a major joint-venture partner to help with financing and operation, and a feasibility study proving its economic viability.Once operational, the mine is expected to operate for up to 52 years.In April, the KSM mine was put on the province’s major projects priority list, which is meant to speed up permitting and construction, a response to the global trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump and meant to reduce B.C.’s reliance on American markets.Its tailings pond, one of the largest in North America, is estimated to be about 52 storeys deep, said Simpson, and is in the Treaty Creek Valley area, which the province had acknowledged to be on the nation’s territory.According to the ruling, Seabridge, which has been working on the mine project for over 15 years, began engaging with Indigenous groups, including the TSKLH, about its intention to seek a substantial start determination from the environmental assessment office in April 2023.In August that year, the First Nation received a letter from the Indigenous Relations Ministry that said evidence suggests the Treaty Creek Valley area was TSKLH territory.The First Nation responded with a request for a “strength of claim assessment,” so the province can determine the scope or extent of consultation owed to the First Nation.In court, the province said the environmental assessment office has provided opportunities for the First Nation to receive deep and meaningful consultation on the project.The judge disagreed, saying the province recognized the First Nation had a more substantial claim to the area but didn’t address this heightened claim as part of the determination.“While consultation need not be perfect, when it directly impacts at a critical time on a critical issue — a substantial start determination that breathes life into an (environmental assessment) certificate for the duration of a project that may last more than 50 years — more effort is needed to ensure this confusion was clarified before the (substantial start decision) was made,” said Burke. “The province’s actions were too late and insufficient.”The Tahltan and Nisga’a First Nations have benefits agreements with Seabridge for the KSM project.Seabridge says it has now spent $1.2 billion to date on the project. 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