Critical minerals collide with #tourism in B.C. resort town.
A #Calgary based mining company called West High Yield Resources wants to extract #magnesium ore from Record Ridge, about seven kilometres outside of town, and ship it overseas.
West High Yield holds mineral claims over 8,972 hectares at the site — an area 4.6 times bigger than the city of Victoria. In October 2025, the #BCgovernment approved the company’s #mining permit.
Several #Rossland residents say they have been confounded by what they see as abnormalities in the siting and permitting of the mine. Many have united under the banner of the non-profit Save Record Ridge Action Society ( #SRRAC ).
At one point, WHY Resources sought to remove up to 200,000 tonnes of ore a year, but later reduced that to 63,500 tonnes per year — below the 70,000-tonne limit that often triggers an environmental assessment.
In a May 2025 letter to the province, the #Ktunaxa Nation Council argued alongside SRRAC that the mine footprint only dropped by 5.7 per cent, despite a 68 per cent cut in proposed production.
The stated lower production capacity “masks and understates its true capacity” and environmental footprint, added the nation, arguing it’s designed to avoid initial regulatory hurdles and be scaled up later.
SRRAC requested that Ottawa carry out an environmental review of the Record Ridge mine project.
A report issued last month from the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada rejected that request. It found the mine project did not require federal designation, and that existing laws were enough to manage the potential impacts on fish, migratory birds and Indigenous rights.
https://www.timescolonist.com/islander/critical-minerals-collide-with-tourism-in-bc-resort-town-12068777
#BCpoli #CDNpoli #StopEcocide #Environmental #Climate #EcoJustice #UNDRIP #IndigenousRights #ProtectTheWild #biodiversity #EcologicalHealth #OneEarth #BritishColumbia #AbolishCorporateLobbyists #StopCorporateWelfare #NoSubsidiesForMining
CBC British Columbia
Ms. Que Banh
Global News Okanagan
Global News BC
Global News
