Scud River Airport

The airport was closed for economic and logistical reasons. It was a private airstrip built for a single purpose: to support mineral exploration activities for the Sulphurets-Mitchell project (now known as the KSM Project). When the intensive exploration phase it was built for concluded and project activity paused, there was no longer a financial or operational justification to maintain the remote and costly airstrip. Subsequent development plans for the KSM project have focused on different logistical strategies, such as road access and utilizing other regional airports.

The site is an abandoned and unmaintained gravel airstrip. Satellite imagery confirms the runway outline is still clearly visible alongside the Scud River, but it is being slowly reclaimed by vegetation and shows no signs of recent use or maintenance. There are no buildings or facilities remaining at the site. The land is located within the extensive mineral tenures held by Seabridge Gold Inc. for the KSM Project. While not officially sanctioned, it is possible that local bush pilots could use the strip for emergency or precautionary landings.

Scud River Airport was a crucial logistical asset during the exploration boom in British Columbia's 'Golden Triangle' in the 1980s and 1990s. Its primary and sole purpose was to provide air access for geologists, workers, equipment, and supplies to the remote exploration camp that led to the discovery and definition of the massive Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) deposit. This deposit is now recognized as one of the largest undeveloped gold and copper reserves in the world. The airport's operations would have exclusively handled Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capable bush planes, such as the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-3 Otter, and DHC-6 Twin Otter, which are essential for accessing rugged and undeveloped terrain.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Scud River Airport. The current, advanced-stage development plans for the KSM Project by Seabridge Gold focus on creating road access through a series of tunnels that will connect the mine and processing sites to the provincial highway system near Stewart, BC. Air support for the future mine's construction and operation is planned to utilize the established and better-equipped airports in Stewart (CZST) and Terrace (CYXT). The original Scud River airstrip is not part of the project's current or future infrastructure plans, making its reopening highly improbable.