Productive Discussions Held
WHY Resources (WKN A1J5LQ / TSXV WHY) hopes to launch its Record Ridge magnesium project in the near future. To this end, they have now submitted an adjusted permit application, aiming to bypass a hurdle erected by the authorities.
For years, the company had been advancing Record Ridge as an industrial minerals project, even with the knowledge of the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) – only to recently learn that the unique project is being evaluated as a classic mining project. This would have necessitated a lengthy and expensive environmental impact assessment for the previously planned production volume of 200,000 tons per year.
However, West High Yield has found a way to launch this highly promising project (More information available here) initially without such an assessment – namely as a classic mining project with an annual production of <75,000 tons per year. This would be below the threshold requiring an environmental impact assessment.
Productive Discussions with the Authorities
To this end, as WHY Resources recently announced, they had a productive “forward-looking” meeting with British Columbia’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation (EMLI). The company outlined its adjusted permit application for the extraction and mining of “critical minerals” at the so-called RRIMM project (Record Ridge Industrial Mineral Mine), which included reducing the planned annual production below the threshold set by the EAO.
According to WHY Resources, the company’s consultants have already submitted the adjusted application to EMLI on September 17. Detailed responses to all previous comments from the British Columbia Mine Development Review Committee have also been submitted.
In detail, it was communicated at the EMLI meeting that the annual tonnage of the RRIMM project was set at 63,500 tons per year, to remain 15% below the EAO’s 75,000-ton threshold. Additionally, there were other minor adjustments to the RRIM mining plan. These were advised to the company by participants of the MLI meeting.
Now the adjusted application awaits review by the Mine Development Review Committee. This committee will then provide feedback and announce the next steps in the approval process.
Conclusion: It is undoubtedly more than annoying that just before the finish line, the permit application for the Record Ridge project had to be modified once again and the planned annual production significantly reduced. Nevertheless, theoretically, even at this scale of operation, the extremely high-grade magnesium project can still generate substantial profits. The way forward is clear, and the next steps have already been initiated. We’re keeping our fingers crossed!
