ROSS RIVER – A judicial review has been filed on behalf of the Ross River Dena Council and the Kaska Nation for the decision on the Kudz Ze Kayah mine project
The filed application for a Federal Court judicial review of the June 15, 2022 decision of the Yukon Government, Natural Resources Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada allowing the proposed BMC Mineral Ltd’s Kudz Ze Kayah Mine Project, which is set for regulatory permitting.
The Kudz Ze Kayah Project entails the development and operation of an industrial copper, lead, and zinc mine that will use both open-pit and underground mining methods.
This is right in the heart of Ross River and the Kaska Territory, which is exercising constitutionally to protect the Aboriginal title, rights and interests of that area. According to the RRDC, the Kudz Ze Kayah Project is also located in the key habitat for the Finlayson Caribou herd.
The number of this caribou in the herd has been declining for several years, owing in large part to the cumulative impacts of industrial activity in the area, including previous mining ventures near the Kudz Ze Kayah Project.
The RRDC’s judicial review application alleges several failures by Yukon and Canada to comply with the Crown’s constitutional responsibility to consult Kaska Nation before approving the Kudz Ze Kayah Project.
