Significant Effect on Valuation of WHY Resources Likely
The approval marathon for the Record Ridge industrial mineral project of WHY Resources (WKN A1J5LQ / TSXV WHY) in British Columbia is approaching a successful finish. The company recently received a detailed written schedule for the approval process from the responsible Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation (EMLI) in British Columbia. According to this, the responsible committee intends to give a final recommendation on November 28, 2024.
Although the dates could still be adjusted, WHY Resources is optimistic that the process is on track to receive approval in early December 2024. WHY Resources has recently made a significant concession to the authorities by reducing the size of future production from 200,000 tpa to 75,000 tpa. This step can particularly eliminate the need for complex environmental approval.
West High Yield continues to work closely with project stakeholders and regulatory authorities to ensure an efficient process.
Conclusion: The Record Ridge industrial mineral project in British Columbia is technically outstanding: 1,000 kg of raw ore contains approx. 430 kg of magnesium oxide (MgO), 420 kg of silicon dioxide, 90 kg of iron oxide and 2-3 kg of nickel – a total of approx. 940 kg of valuable products with magnesium and silicon dioxide as the main products. The special feature of the Record Ridge project’s resource is that it is based on silica, not carbon like most magnesium projects. This distinguishes Record Ridge from the most common source for MgO production in China and worldwide. Because there, the starting material is magnesite (MgCO₃). The most important method for producing MgO, in turn, is the calcination of magnesite, in which it is heated to high temperatures to decompose into MgO and CO₂. Magnesite contains about 24% Mg and about 40% MgO by weight, and the remaining 60% of the ore consists of CO₂ and other impurities. When processing magnesite to produce MgO, 60% of the material becomes waste. In contrast, at Record Ridge, 94 percent of the mined material can actually be recovered as valuable products. The expected approval should have a significant effect on the valuation of WHY Resources, as the project would finally become financeable with approval.
