Gold miner sues BC over ‘stripped’ mining rights

MCC Canadian Gold Ventures says it has launched a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the British Columbia government after the province stripped MCGV of its mining rights through Orders in Council to settle a separate legal dispute with the Gitxaala Nation. 

The claim arises from several 2024 Orders in Council the B.C. government issued under section 7 of the Environment and Land Use Act to sterilize the company’s mineral claims and prohibit any further exploration on Banks Island 870 km northwest of Vancouver.  

MCGV, which is owned by New York-based MCC Non-Ferrous Trading, said Monday the province had previously lobbied the company to rescue the bankrupt, environmentally compromised Yellow Giant gold mine on Banks Island. It took over in 2019. 

The province “specifically asked us to step in and rescue this mine,” MCGV director Danish Mir said in a release. “We invested millions, began the necessary work of cleaning up someone else’s environmental mess, and created real economic value for British Columbia.”

The province has said it won’t comment on the matter before the courts. It hasn’t yet filed its formal statement of defence in the B.C. Supreme Court. Legally, the government has 21 days from the date of being served to submit its official response. 

Gitxaala Nation

The Gitxaala Nation filed a legal challenge in 2021 in Supreme Court seeking to overturn the province’s granting of multiple mineral claims from 2018 to 2020 on Banks Island, in their territory. The issue centered around whether the Mineral Tenure Act is consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

In September 2023, a judicial review ruled that the B.C. government owes a duty to consult Indigenous peoples with asserted rights and title when granting mineral claims.  

The B.C. Supreme Court decision ruled the province’s automatic online mineral claim system breached its constitutional duty to consult with First Nations.  

In 2024, the BC government announced new interim measures will place restrictions on mineral claim registrations and mining activities in Gitxaała Nation and Ehattesaht First Nation territories, while the province works to modernize BC’s Mineral Tenure Act. 

Compensation

MCGV said that to date, no compensation has been paid to the company. 

“British Columbia’s mining sector drives jobs, tax revenue, and economic growth in communities across this province,” Mir said. “We intend to pursue this case vigorously and forcefully.” 

This case, the company said, draws parallels to the landmark decision in Carrier Lumber v. British Columbia. 

In that case, the province was ultimately compelled to pay a substantial damages award to a forestry company whose contractual rights had been unilaterally extinguished by the government of then-Premier Mike Harcourt in the course of resolving a dispute with a First Nation.