Community Concerns over West High Yield Resources Ltd. (W.H.Y.) Record Ridge Industrial Mineral Mine Magnesium Project (RRIMM Project)
By City of Rossland
The City of Rossland would like to address some community concerns over the proposed RRIMM Project.
From the onset of learning about the RRIMM Project, local concerns raised by the City have included general provisions related to environmental / ecosystem damage, wildlife protection, recreational sites impact, project accessibility, traffic pattern volume changes, and potential onsite/offsite contamination. Similar concerns from the community have also been advanced to the City from residents and local groups.
In early 2019, W.H.Y. submitted a joint Permit Application for a Mines Act permit and Environmental Management Act permit (proposing to develop and operate its RRIMM Project near Rossland, British Columbia). According to the proponents, the proposed project objective is to bring into production one of the world’s largest, greenest deposits of high-grade magnesium. The proponent has said they will be holding public engagement sessions in the near future, but no dates have been set. For further information contact General Southeast EMLI.
The province’s standard process is to pre-screen an application prior to its official submittal in order to identify any items missing from the application. Upon completion of this initial process, an applicant is then invited to submit an official application – which is then thoroughly reviewed by all relevant governmental parties. As the provincial screening process is now advancing for the RRIMM Project, the City expects to receive additional concerns from the community on all issues that were previously identified.
The City also wishes to note that as this is a Provincial issue (and unless the City becomes aware of some egregious violation of process), the proposed project is outside of the City’s municipal jurisdiction and legislated responsibility. With this in mind, Rossland City Council has no direct involvement and/or influence over the possibility of the RRIMM Project moving forward in any manner. However, with that being said, the City will ensure that any relevant local issues which might impact the community are being forthrightly represented in the current process.
For any further information contact:
Stacey Lightbourne, Planning and Development
email planner@rossland.ca
