A First Nation says it wasn’t meaningfully consulted before the British Columbia government “effectively greenlit” what has been called the world’s largest undeveloped gold mining project.
But Seabridge Gold, the company behind the KSM Mine Project in Northwestern B.C., says the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation declined repeated invitations to participate in the review process.
The Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation has applied to the B.C. Supreme Court for a judicial review of the province’s decision to issue a “substantial start determination” for the KSM mine part of the final stage of the environmental assessment process.
A statement from the nation said KSM will be the world’s largest gold, copper and silver mine, and will use similar technology “as mines whose toxic waste facilities have breeched and caused massive environmental devastation.”
Court documents ask a judge to overturn the determination and rule that the government failed to fulfil its duty to consult the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation and accommodate its interests.
The nation’s statement said “toxic byproducts” would be collected in a manmade pond next to “the pristine natural waterways the nation relies on for food and traditional practices.”
“The province has repeatedly acknowledged the planned location of KSM’s tailings waste is in Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha territory, yet for years they have ignored, and allowed Seabridge to ignore, the nation’s attempts to have its concerns addressed,” the nation’s lawyer Ryan Beaton said in the statement.
“They have obligations under the Constitution and UNDRIP to meaningfully engage with the Nation about those concerns and have failed to do so.”
However, Seabridge’s vice-president, R. Brent Murphy, said in a statement that while the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha nation had sought recognition of rights to the area where the tailings would be collected, “these rights are not currently recognized by the government.”
“The area asserted by TKSKLH includes the area contained within the Nisga’a final agreement and is recognized by the British Columbia Government as part of the traditional territory of the Tahltan Nation,” he said.
“Both of these nations support the KSM Project and the substantially started determination.”
In 2019, British Columbia passed laws establishing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the province’s framework for reconciliation.
A statement from the province’s Environmental Assessment Office said it was not able to comment since the matter is before the court.