Skeena Resources (SKE, Financial) has secured a legal victory as the Supreme Court of Canada has declined to review an appeal by Richard Mill and Orogenic Gold Corp. This decision upholds the British Columbia Court of Appeal's July 2024 ruling, which was in favor of Skeena in a dispute concerning mineral rights at the Albino Lake Storage Facility within the Eskay Creek site.
The Court of Appeal's decision asserted that Skeena did not surrender rights to the materials in question to the province. It deemed a prior ruling by the Gold Commissioner incorrect for suggesting otherwise. This earlier ruling had implied that the province had granted ownership of the materials to Mill when he obtained a mineral claim in the Albino Lake area in 2017. The appellate court identified several legal mistakes in the initial ruling, which led to its reversal and a directive for the matter to be reconsidered by the newly appointed Gold Commissioner.
With the Supreme Court's refusal to grant an appeal, the path is now clear for a rehearing before the new Gold Commissioner. However, the reevaluation process is ongoing and is expected to extend into the fourth quarter of the year.
It is important to note that the materials within the Albino Lake Storage Facility are not included in Skeena's mineral resource or reserve statements for Eskay Creek and were not part of the November 2023 Definitive Feasibility Study for the Eskay Creek Project.
