B.C. issues environmental assessment certificate for Eskay Creek mine

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government has issued an environmental assessment certificate to Eskay Creek Mining Ltd., to restart gold and silver mining at the site of the former Eskay Creek mine in Tahltan territory.

The province says in a news release that its Environmental Assessment Office carried out a “collaborative assessment process” with the Tahltan Central Government, in what it says is the first of its kind to be guided by a consent agreement.

The release says B.C.’s mining and environment ministers made the decision to issue the certificate after reviewing the office’s report and recommendations, as well as a risk assessment from the northwestern First Nation.

It says the ministers also applied 38 legally binding conditions on the project, including ones that were co-developed with the nation to mitigate risks identified in its assessment such as monitoring effects to fish and air quality and minimizing community effects in culturally appropriate ways.

The release says provincial permits and federal approval are also required for the project to proceed and those decisions are expected soon.

Under the environmental assessment certificate, the Eskay Creek mine must be substantially started by 2036.

It says if approved, the project is expected to generate about 1,000 jobs during construction and more than 770 jobs during peak operations, “along with projected capital expenditure of $713 million and approximately $1.2 billion in provincial revenues.”

In 2022, the engagement process between the province and the Tahltan over the mine had been hailed as the first “consent-based” agreement with a First Nation over land use. It was said by the province at the time to be the first in Canada made according to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2026.