Tudor Gold (TSXV: TUD) has filed a Notice of Work permit with B.C.'s Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation to build an underground ramp at its Treaty Creek gold-copper project. The goal? More efficient, year-round access to the high-grade SC‑1 gold zone, speeding up underground definition drilling.

Tudor holds 60% of Treaty Creek—bordering Seabridge Gold’s KSM project and Newmont’s Brucejack mine, with the old Eskay Creek site just 12 km away. Their latest resource estimate is impressive: 27.9 million ounces of gold-equivalent in the indicated category across 730 million tonnes (grading 0.92 g/t Au, 5.48 g/t Ag, and 0.18 % Cu), plus another 6 million ounces in the inferred category.

Add to that a stake bump—should their pending acquisition of American Creek close post–August 28 shareholder approval and regulatory clearance, Tudor’s share of Treaty Creek would rise to 80%.

Even with the glow of these numbers, critics are raising a few eyebrows.

• On the economics: Analysts point out that the project still hasn't generated a cash-flow model. One such critique notes that the relatively modest average grade—even with aggressive cutoff thresholds (0.70 g/t for open pit, 0.75 g/t for underground)—hints at a gross margin of just about 32% at best, which may not be robust enough to warrant heavy investment.
  
  
• On technical validation: While there’s some metallurgical work done, documentation remains sparse. An April 2024 technical report exists, but some commentators argue that full results are still pending, leaving a data gap on how viable large-scale extraction would be.

Tudor’s case is undeniably compelling: a ramp for uninterrupted exploration, meaningful resources, and expanding control of the project. That infrastructure move alone could accelerate development significantly.

But relying on potential is exactly what critics are pointing out—it’s still a speculative story until drilling data, permitting, metallurgy, and economics all align. Without that, there's a risk the excitement outpaces the substance.

In a nutshell: Tudor might be setting the stage for something big—but skeptics are saying, “Great press release—but let’s see proof in the core, not just the plans.”