News Summary
On December 10, 2025, Seabridge Gold announced additional drilling results from its 2025 program at the Snip North deposit, part of the Iskut Project in British Columbia. The results from 16 new holes continue to define a large copper-gold porphyry system.
Key intercepts include:
– SN-25-42: 719.0 meters grading 0.60 g/t Au
– SN-25-38: 392.5 meters grading 0.57 g/t Au
– SN-25-37: 310.1 meters grading 0.54 g/t Au
– SN-25-34: 538.9 meters grading 0.52 g/t Au
– SN-25-44: 137.4 meters grading 0.93 g/t Au
CEO Rudi Fronk stated that the intensity and scale of the deposit provide confidence that a significant maiden resource estimate can be achieved in early 2026. The mineralization remains open at depth and along strike, and the company is still searching for a potential higher-grade intrusive source.
Material Impact
The latest drill results are materially positive as they build upon a consistent stream of successful exploration news from the Iskut project throughout 2025. The results confirm the presence of a very large, low-grade copper-gold porphyry system, consistent with previous announcements on August 12 and September 15, 2025. The September 15 release highlighted a particularly strong intercept of 560 meters of 0.87 g/t Au, which raised expectations; the current results, with long intercepts in the 0.5-0.6 g/t Au range and one shorter interval near 1.0 g/t Au, solidify the deposit’s scale and continuity.
This progress at Iskut is critical for Seabridge as it provides a compelling “second act” to the company’s story, which has been dominated by the enormous but capital-intensive KSM project. The development of a maiden resource at Iskut in early 2026, as projected by the CEO, would add tangible value and diversify the company’s asset base.
However, the primary value driver and key risk for Seabridge remains the KSM project. Throughout 2025, news flow has been dominated by legal challenges from Tudor Gold concerning tunnel authorizations. While Seabridge has been successful in fending off these challenges thus far (news from July 14, October 3, October 7), the legal issues represent a persistent overhang and source of uncertainty.
Critically, the company’s primary stated objective for 2025 was to secure a joint venture partner for KSM. There has been no substantive news on this front. The market is awaiting a partnership to validate the project’s economics and provide a path to funding its multi-billion-dollar CAPEX.
The Q3 2025 financial results (November 12) showed a net loss of $32.3 million and a high burn rate, with working capital at $83.2 million. While a successful tax appeal (October 29) will provide a modest cash infusion, the company’s treasury is being depleted by aggressive programs at both KSM and Iskut.
In conclusion, the Iskut results are excellent and de-risk a potentially significant second asset. This strengthens the company’s portfolio. However, this positive development does not resolve the main investment question surrounding Seabridge: the partnership and financing for KSM. The news helps to support the stock’s significant run-up in 2025, but the KSM partnership remains the key catalyst required for a further re-rating.
Catalysts
– KSM Joint Venture Partner: This is the most important catalyst. Any announcement regarding a partnership with a major miner to develop KSM would be a game-changer. The lack of news here is a growing concern.
– Legal Rulings: Final court decisions on the outstanding petitions and appeals from Tudor Gold regarding KSM’s tunnel rights and “substantially started” designation. A definitive resolution in Seabridge’s favor would remove a key overhang.
– Iskut Maiden Resource Estimate: The company has guided for this in “early 2026”. The size and grade of this initial resource will be a major data point for the market to value the Iskut asset.
– KSM Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS): Updates on the progress of the KSM BFS, which was a stated use of proceeds from the February 2025 financing.
Materiality Conclusion
The announcement of further successful drill results from Iskut is materially positive. It confirms the discovery of a large mineralized system and strongly supports the potential for a significant maiden resource, adding a second key asset to the company’s portfolio. However, it is not a “game-changer” because the company’s valuation and future are inextricably tied to securing a partner to build the KSM project, a catalyst that has not yet materialized.
