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 tunneling rights linked to one of Canada’s largest undeveloped mining projects.
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 granting Seabridge permission to tunnel through Tudor’s mineral claims for the construction of underground infrastructure tied to the massive Kerr–Sulphurets–Mitchell (KSM) project.
The KSM project, owned entirely by Seabridge, is described as one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold and copper deposits.
Tudor, meanwhile, operates the neighboring Treaty Creek property, where exploration since the early 2010s has identified major gold and copper resources at the Goldstorm deposit.
In its filings, Tudor is asking the court to declare that a conditional mineral reserve, which is imposed by the province to protect Seabridge’s tunneling rights, does not apply to its claims, or that British Columbia’s authorities exceeded their legal powers in granting the rights of occupation.
Failing that, Tudor is seeking compensation for expropriation or damages related to 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 assessing the various aspects of the Treaty Creek Project, we filed the claim as we believed it was necessary to preserve our rights impacted by a limitation period; however, we believe the best path forward is to resolve this dispute through negotiation,” Ovsenek added.
Tudor’s case also targets a September 2024 decision by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (WLRS) granting Seabridge a renewed Licence of Occupation (LoO) for the tunnel corridor.
The 2024 LoO replaced an earlier 2014 licence and provided Seabridge the right to occupy a narrow stretch of Crown land that overlaps Tudor’s mineral claims.
In a July 2024 statement, former Tudor CEO and President, Ken Konkin, wrote: “It is the company’s position that any LoO which allows access for KSM Mining to construct the MTT tunnels through Tudor’s mineral claims is subject to the prior rights of Tudor to its mineral tenures. As a result, the company will continue to strongly oppose any LoO and MTT Tunnel route planned by KSM Mining that would impair Tudor’s newly discovered Goldstorm Deposit.’
The company insists that a Licence of Occupation cannot interfere with the rights of a mineral claim holder, and that the government has a duty to safeguard those rights.
Seabridge, however, maintains that the provincial authorizations are valid and were granted in line with established procedures.
“We have attempted to find terms to avoid a conflict like this with Tudor, but their demands have been unreasonable,” said Seabridge chair and CEO Rudi Fronk in a recent statement. “We are confident that the Province has acted within the law and that the various authorizations for the MTT are appropriate and reliable.”
Fronk added that the KSM project has been deemed in the public interest. Currently, it is already backed by environmental assessment approvals, a pre-feasibility study demonstrating economic viability, and multiple construction permits.
He also accused Tudor of pursuing multiple overlapping court actions in an effort to delay KSM’s progress.
“Tudor now has three concurrent, separate legal actions all directed at voiding authorizations for the MTT. In our view, if Tudor thinks it must bring three separate legal actions, it probably lacks confidence in the success of any one of them,” Fronk added.
For now, the 2024 Licence of Occupation remains in effect as the province and Seabridge prepare to defend it in court. The company said it will continue advancing development work on the KSM project for the benefit of its shareholders.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.