West High Yield Resources to fight B.C. Environmental Assessment Office vote

The Record Ridge Magnesium Project is nearing completion of a multi-year permitting process led by the British Columbia Mine Development Review Committee, with extensive participation from regulators, local governments, Indigenous peoples, and the public. The project has been advanced as an industrial minerals project for years with the knowledge of the EAO.

To the surprise of WHY Resources, the environmental authority apparently no longer wants to recognize the Record Ridge project as an industrial minerals project but instead wants to treat it as a classic mining project. As a consequence, the EAO is now demanding an environmental impact assessment from WHY Resources for the planned production volume of 200,000 tpa. This environmental impact assessment would have been unnecessary for an industrial minerals project of this size because the threshold for an assessment is exactly the 200,000 tpa that WHY had applied for. However, the authority’s decision leaves WHY with a pathway forward: If WHY Resources were to operate the project as a “classic mining project” with an annual production of <75,000 tpa, the environmental impact assessment could be waived. This is because the threshold value for projects in this category is <75,000 tpa. There would still be an engagement process required with the EAO office to complete this assessment. Fortunately, the majority of the work for the EAO process has already been completed and submitted which would expedite the process.  

As WHY Resources reports, the EAO contacted the company immediately before publishing its classification on the Internet to verbally inform it that an environmental impact assessment would not be required if the project were to reduce its production to below <75,000 tons per year. The authority offered to facilitate a dialog with other interested ministries to discuss the possibility of approving a smaller project in a timely manner.

“While this is not a development we expected or desired, a smaller startup scale may ultimately help ensure broad community support and we may consider expansions in the future in accordance with applicable laws,” Mr. Marasco Jr. added. ”

Bottom line: the outrage over the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision is clear from WHY Resources’ statement, and it is understandable. But in the end, things are never as bad as they seem. There is therefore much to be said for a pragmatic solution in which everyone saves face. After all, it is probably more important for the company that its critical mineral magnesium/silica/nickel project is finally approved after many years than that its maximum demands are met. At least there are signs of a compromise in this direction. The project also promises to be highly profitable in a smaller form. With approval, WHY Resources should also be able to obtain commercial financing for scaled-down production. Later, when production is up and running and money is flowing into the company’s coffers, it will still be possible to negotiate an expansion of the project at larger volumes and going through the EA process. This is probably one of the reasons why WHY Resources does not want to relinquish any legal options at the present time.