Seabridge Gold's KSM Tunnel Authorizations Face Third Legal Challenge from Tudor Gold

Executive Summary

• Tudor Gold Corp. has filed a petition in the BC Supreme Court seeking judicial review of the Province’s 2024 Licence of Occupation (LoO) that permits Seabridge to construct and operate the 23 km MTT through Tudor’s Treaty Creek Property claims.
• The petition requests: (1) a declaration that a LoO cannot impair mineral‑claim rights; (2) severance of all provisions granting Seabridge rights across the Treaty Project Claims; and (3) an order quashing WLRS’s 2024 LoO decision.
• Seabridge’s Chair & CEO Rudi Fronk asserts the LoO remains in effect, emphasizes existing environmental approvals and pre‑feasibility work for KSM, and characterizes Tudor’s demands as unreasonable, indicating confidence in defending the licence.

Key Details

• Petitioner: Tudor Gold Corp. (owner of Treaty Creek Property mineral claims).
• Respondent(s): British Columbia Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (WLRS) and Seabridge Gold Inc./KSM Mining ULC (100 % owned subsidiary).
• Licence in Question: 2024 Licence of Occupation (LoO) granting Seabridge a narrow corridor to build the Mitchell Treaty Tunnels (MTT).
• Scope of MTT: Two parallel tunnels, each ~23 km long; ≈12.5 km of the route traverses Tudor’s Treaty Project Claims.
• Petition Relief Sought:
  1. Declaration that a LoO cannot interfere with mineral‑claim rights.
  2. Severance of all LoO provisions granting Seabridge rights across the Treaty Project Claims.
  3. Order quashing WLRS’s decision to grant the 2024 LoO.
• Allegations: WLRS’s decision was procedurally unfair/unreasonable; construction of MTT would destroy economic viability of Tudor’s Treaty Creek Project.
• Seabridge Position:
• The 2024 LoO remains effective pending defense.
• KSM project has environmental assessment approvals, a pre‑feasibility study demonstrating economic viability, substantial early‑construction investments, and multiple permits for infrastructure (including portions of the MTT).
• Tudor’s legal actions are “unreasonable” and lack confidence in success.
• Previous Communications: References to Seabridge news releases on July 14 2025 and October 3 2025 addressing earlier MTT challenges.

Notable Quotes

“In granting the 2024 LoO, WLRS has exercised its discretion to support the KSM Project… KSM has therefore been determined to be in the interests of British Columbia.” – Rudi Fronk, Chair & CEO, Seabridge Gold

“We have attempted to find terms to avoid a conflict like this with Tudor, but their demands have been unreasonable. Tudor now has three concurrent, separate legal actions… 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.” – Rudi Fronk, Chair & CEO, Seabridge Gold