June 2015 – Issue 2
The Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) mine project is a copper, gold, silver and molybdenum deposit in British Columbia proposed for development by Toronto-based Seabridge Gold (TSX:SEA) (NYSE:SA), a junior mining company which holds a 100% interest in it. The proposed mine would be 35 km (22 miles) from the international border, and just upstream from the Misty Fjords National Monument in Alaska. KSM is a massive project comprised of four deposits that would be mined as a combined open-pit and underground block-cave mine. The operation would be in two locations connected by twin 23-km (14 mile) long tunnels – extending under an active glacier – which would be used to transport miners and ore between the pits and the mill and tailings impoundment. It is expected to process between 120,000 to 180,000 tonnes of ore per day over a mine life of 55 years. Opposition to the project has increased, with some analysts comparing it to the proposed Pebble Project in southwest Alaska.
