Skeena secures environment certificate for B.C. gold-silver mine
Skeena Gold & Silver [SKE-TSXV, SKE-NYSE, RXFB-FRA] said it has received the Environmental Assessment Certificate (EAC) for its 100%-owned Eskay Creek gold-silver project in northwestern British Columbia.
The EAC was issued by the B.C. Minister of Mining & Critical Minerals and the B.C. Minister of Environment & Parks and jointly approved by the Tahltan Central Government. Receipt of the EAC represents a major milestone for the project and concludes a rigorous Environmental Assessment process initiated in August, 2024, the company said in a press release, Tuesday. The process includes more than 60 engagement sessions with local communities and over 500 meetings with Tahltan Central Government.
“This achievement is especially meaningful to me as a member of the Tahltan Nation,’’ said Nalaine Morin, Senior Vice-President of Environment & Social Affairs at Skeena. “Receiving our EA Certificate as the first company in Canadian history through the Section 7 agreement, demonstrates what is possible when Indigenous rights and responsible resource development are advanced together.’’
Skeena continues to progress construction work on the project with the first gold planned for the first half of 2027.
Eskay represents one of the highest-grade, lowest cost, open-pit precious metal mines in the world. The feasibility study outlines an average production profile of 455,000 gold equivalent ounces (AuEq) ounces annually in the first five years of operation at an all-in-sustaining cost (AISC) of US$538 an ounce.
Aside from the gold, Eskay will be a very significant silver producer, yielding 9.5 million ounces of silver in the first five years of production, material that is expected the make the asset a cash machine, generating annual cash flow of $726 million.
By redeveloping the mine, Skeena is continuing the legacy set by Barrick Mining Corp. [ABX-TSX, B-NYSE], which produced 3.3 million ounces of gold and 160 million ounces of silver from 1994 to 2008. At that time, Eskay ranked as the highest-grade gold mine in the world with a mined grade of 45 g/t gold and 2,224 g/t silver.
Skeena’s 2023 feasibility study is based on proven and probable mineral reserves for open-pit mining of 39.8 million tonnes containing 3.3 million ounces of gold and 88 million ounces of silver. That amounts to 4.6 million ounces of gold equivalent (AuEq).
Skeena shares advanced on the news, easing 3.1% or $1.36 to $45.39. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $46.25 and $12.15
Back in October, 2025, Skeena closed a bought deal offing of 5.6 million common shares priced at $24 per share, a move that raised $143.7 million, an amount that included the full exercise of the over-allotment option by the underwriters.
The company said proceeds raised from the sale of the common shares would be used for continued advancement of the company’s Eskay Creek project and for general corporate purposes.
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