An ongoing land use dispute in British Columbia’s mineral-rich Golden Triangle has escalated into a full-blown legal battle as Tudor Gold (TSXV:TUD,OTC Pink:TDRRF) takes the province and rival Seabridge Gold (TSX:SEA,NYSE:SA) to court over tunnel rights tied to one of the country’s largest undeveloped mining projects of Canada.
Tudor filed a civil claim in the BC Supreme Court on September 22 and a separate petition for judicial review on October 3, alleging that the province acted improperly in allowing Seabridge to tunnel through Tudor’s mineral claims to build underground infrastructure related to the massive Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) project.
The KSM project, wholly owned by Seabridge, is described as one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold and copper deposits.
Tudor, meanwhile, operates the adjacent Treaty Creek property, where exploration since the early 2010s has identified large gold and copper deposits in the Goldstorm deposit.
In its submissions, Tudor asks the court to declare that a conditional mineral reserve imposed by the province to protect Seabridge tunnel rights does not apply to its claims, or that British Columbia authorities exceeded their legal powers in granting the occupancy rights.
If that fails, Tudor will claim damages for expropriation or damages in connection with misrepresentation.
“We have a new team at Tudor Gold with a significant amount of experience exploring, developing and mining in the Golden Triangle,” said Tudor President and CEO Joe Ovsenek.
“In reviewing the various aspects of the Treaty Creek Project, we filed the claim because we believed it was necessary to preserve our rights affected by a statute of limitations; however, we believe the best path forward is to resolve this dispute through negotiations,” Ovsenek added.
Tudor’s case also focuses on a September 2024 decision by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (WLRS) granting Seabridge a renewed use permit (LoO) for the tunnel corridor.
The 2024 LoO replaced an earlier license from 2014 and gave Seabridge the right to occupy a narrow area of Crown land overlapping Tudor’s mineral claims.
The company emphasizes that an occupational license should not infringe on the rights of one mineral claim holderand that the government has a duty to guarantee these rights.
However, Seabridge maintains that the provincial permits are valid and were issued in accordance with established procedures.
“We have tried to find terms to avoid a conflict like this with Tudor, but their demands have been unreasonable,” Rudi Fronk, chairman and CEO of Seabridge, said in a statement. recent statement. “We are confident that the Province has acted within the law and that the various permits for the MTT are appropriate and reliable.”
Fronk added that the KSM project is considered of public interest. Currently, it is already supported by environmental assessment approvals, a feasibility study demonstrating economic viability, and multiple building permits.
He also accused Tudor of filing multiple overlapping lawsuits in an attempt to slow KSM’s progress.
“Tudor now has three concurrent, separate legal actions all aimed at invalidating permits for the MTT. If Tudor believes it needs to take three separate legal actions, in our view it is likely not confident in the success of any of them,” Fronk added.
For now, the 2024 occupancy permit remains in effect as the county and Seabridge prepare to defend it in court. The company said it will continue to advance development work on the KSM project for the benefit of its shareholders.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, have no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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