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Skeena Resources (NYSE:SKE) +8.2% to a 52-week high in Friday’s trading after saying the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturned rulings by the Chief Gold Commissioner and Supreme Court of British Columbia regarding ownership of waste rock and tailings from the Eskay Creek mine stored in the company’s Albino Lake facility.
The dispute centered on whether Skeena (SKE) relinquished its rights to the Eskay Creek material when it was deposited in the Albino Lake storage facility; the former Chief Gold Commissioner and the B.C. Supreme Court had both ruled in favor of Richard Mill, citing a 2017 mineral claim grant from the province.
Skeena (SKE) said the Court of Appeal concluded the company did not “relinquish” its rights to the Eskay Creek material and found B.C. could not have granted ownership rights of the Eskay Creek Material to Mill when it granted him the mineral claim because the province itself did not hold the rights to the material at the time.
The case has been referred back to the current Chief Gold Commissioner for rehearing and reconsideration following the new judgment.
Last month, Skeena (SKE) secured a $750M financing package for the Eskay Creek mine redevelopment.