The proposal for an open-pit mining operation on Record Ridge, near Rossland, has been told it will be required to undergo a full environmental assessment to proceed.
The Environmental Assessment Office handed down its decision this week, as welcomed result says Rossland Mayor, Andy Morel.
“We’ve been advocating for this with many residents in the communities, not just Rossland but the surrounding as well and affected people,” said Morel.
“We had we’ve had numerous comments from citizens and the council was in agreement that we needed to have that kind of scrutiny.”
Meanwhile, community actions group Save Record Ridge are celebrating the report.
“After more than a year of intensive community effort to prevent this project from going ahead, we are now taking a moment to celebrate,” said Elissa Ferguson with Save Record Ridge Action Committee.
“The EAO’s decision validates the need to properly categorize the project and carefully consider the impacts, which local residents and organizations have been voicing for some time. We now have a lot of work ahead of us to ensure that the risk of this project are properly examined in the course of the Environment Assessment process.”
More information: Rossland residents file opposition to Record Ridge Mine – My Kootenay Now
Background Information
The proposed Record Ridge project located near Rossland would be a new serpentine (magnesium) mine with an annual production of 200,000 tonnes for two years, and up to 20 years, of operations.
The EAO received an application from the environmental organization Wildsight, requesting that the proposed Record Ridge project require an environmental assessment. Wildsight cited the project’s proximity to the community of Rossland and concern that it may have negative environmental and social impacts, particularly on the endangered mountain holly fern, as reasons for requiring an assessment.
In its initial review, the EAO found that Record Ridge did meet the threshold to automatically require an environmental assessment. West High Yield Resources Ltd. (WHY) submitted a project notification for Record Ridge as required for any project close to the threshold of reviewability. The EAO reviewed this project notification as well as the subsequent application for a designation by Wildsight.
This, in addition to engagement with First Nations, the public, provincial experts, and local governments, supplied the EAO with enough information to prepare a report. The report found that the mineral WHY Ltd. is proposing for extraction – serpentinite – is not an ‘industrial’ mineral as defined under the EAO’s Reviewable Projects regulation – and therefore classified as a ‘mineral’ mine.
As a result, Record Ridge, as currently proposed, is required to undergo a full environmental assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act to proceed. WHY Ltd. must submit an initial project description, after which the project can start early engagement, which is the first phase of the environmental assessment process.
Vista Radio has reached out to West High Yield Resources for comment.
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