Seabridge Gold

The company was incorporated as Chopper Mines Incorporated on September 14, 1979, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was listed on the Canadian Venture Exchange. It was renamed Dragoon Resources Ltd on November 9, 1984, and pursued exploration work on mineral properties, principally in British Columbia and Labrador. Between 1998 and 1999 the company underwent a major re-organization, with a new management to pursue gold and the company was renamed Seabridge Resources Ltd on May 20, 1998. Between 2000 and 2002 they acquired numerous exploratory gold projects in Nevada and Oregon, including the Kerr Sulphurets Mitchell property in British Columbia and the Courageous Lake Project located in the Northwest Territories. On June 20, 2002, they adopted the name Seabridge Gold and moved its corporate headquarters to Toronto.[1] The company became listed on the American Stock Exchange in 2004 and graduated from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2008. Its stock had peaked in October 2007 based on the potential of its KSM holdings.[2] In 2016, Seabridge acquired SnipGold Corp. (formerly Skyline Gold Corporation) in an all-stock deal valued at $10 million for its Iskut project in northern British Columbia.[3]

Boundary between the KSM property and Pretium Resource's Snowfield-Brucejack project and the road connecting them to Barrick Gold's Eskay Creek mine (now closed).Glaciers/lakes are also visible in the KSM map

Located in north-western British Columbia, 65 kilometres (40 mi) north of Stewart in the Iskut-Stikine region and near the Alaska border, the KSM property consists of four deposits: Kerr, Sulphurets, Mitchell, and Iron Cap. Its 2010 Preliminary Feasibility Study, updated in 2011, reported a combined proven and probable reserves at 38.5 million ounces of gold, 214 million ounces of silver and 257 million pounds of molybdenum and 10 billion pounds of copper. The report estimated the open pit mine would have a startup cost of US$4.68 billion and a mine life of 52 years.[4] It ranks among the largest known undeveloped gold deposits in the world.[5][6] The property had been purchased by Seabridge in June 2001 from Placer Dome for 500,000 common shares, 5000 warrants (exercised in 2003) and royalty payments capped at C$4.5 million.

The project's environmental assessment application received provincial government approval in July 2014[7] and federal approval in December 2014.[8] Despite the lack of development activity, a five-year extension on the approval was granted in 2018 and a second extension was requested in 2020, as the projected costs rose to $6.7 billion due to its remoteness, low grade material and exceptionally large tailings dam.[9][10]

The Courageous Lake exploration project was acquired in 2002 from Newmont Canada Limited and Total Resources $5.5 million plus a 2% net smelter return royalty. It is located 240 kilometres (150 mi) north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Its 2012 preliminary feasibility study reported 6.5 million ounces of gold (proven and probable) over two deposits (Felsic-Ash-Tuff and Walsh Lake deposits) and projected a potential 15-year mine life.[11][12]

The Iskut property was acquired in 2016. It is located 110 kilometres (68 mi) northwest of Stewart, British Columbia, in the Iskut River watershed, and only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Seabridge's KSM project. It is the site of the Johnny Mountain underground gold and silver mine which operated from 1988 to 1990, and the Bronson Creek Airport. Upon taking ownership, Seabridge conducted remediation work to address the effects of the mine's abandonment, environmental damage and regulatory non-compliance, as well as reclamation work on the airport and exploration drilling.[13][14]

Through its American subsidiaries, Seabridge also owns several exploration projects in Nevada and Oregon. Its Quartz Mountain project in Lake County, Oregon and Grassy Mountain project in Malheur County, Oregon were acquired in 2000-2001. Snowstorm Exploration LLC was purchased in 2017 from PFR Gold Holdings (formerly known as Paulson Gold Holdings) for its Nevada properties.[15]