FROM SEA'S Q1 REPORT RE: MTTApplication for permits to construct the balance of the MTT
The design of the KSM Project as approved in our Environmental Assessment Certificate includes the MTT complex, two 23 km long parallel tunnels that connect the mine sites to the milling area located near an environmentally suitable valley for tailings disposal. Approximately 12.5 km of the MTT route passes through 11 mineral exploration claims held by Tudor Gold Corp (“Tudor”). We have therefore taken care to obtain the priority rights to occupy and use the provincially owned lands through which the MTT must pass, including the Tudor mineral exploration claims.
KSMCo (a 100% owned subsidiary of Seabridge) currently holds a number of permits required for the MTT including a Mines Act permit M-245 (“M-245”) covering a portion of the MTT construction; a License of Occupation (LoO) for the proposed MTT route, and a Conditional Registration Reserve (“CRR”) granted by the Provincial Gold Commissioner. These authorizations were granted by the appropriate government agencies in 2014. As we have advised in our ongoing disclosures, Tudor has contested our MTT rights and made an application to the province to cancel M-245 and the LoO on the arguments that the BC government did not legally have the power to grant these rights to us and that the rights granted to us have caused irreparable damage to the value of their claims. These arguments were refuted by the BC government. On November 17, 2023, the BC Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship (WLRS) stated that the province has the legal authority to grant the LoO, that their records show the LoO is in good standing and there is no justification for canceling it under the empowering statute or relevant LoO provisions.
The British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation (EMLI) reissued their original letter responding to Tudor’s application and in their reissued letter dated February 28, 2024 stated that “a Conditional Registration Reserve (CRR) was established by the Chief Gold Commissioner, for the MTT area, in 2012, and the CRR prohibits the obstruction, endangerment, or interference, with the construction, operation, and maintenance of the tunnel works by any free miner, including Tudor”.
The LoO provides KSMCo the right to occupy the area in which it intends to construct the MTT. Once the MTT is constructed, the License will be converted into a statutory right of way for the entire length of the MTT, including the 12.5 km of the MTT that passes through mineral claims owned by Tudor. In the normal course, our existing LoO expires on September 27, 2024. KSMCo has updated the associated management plan and submitted an application for renewal of the LoO at the request of the applicable regulatory authority.
An amendment application for M-245 requesting permission to construct the remainder of the MTT not already permitted was submitted to the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation (EMLI) on April 2, 2024. In support of the amended application for M-245, KSMCo has completed 50 holes totaling approximately 34,000 meters of geotechnical drilling and detailed engineering along the entire MTT route including Tudor’s mineral claims.