West High Yield Advances Record Ridge Magnesium Project Toward Construction

Duration: 6:24 1044 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

West High Yield Resources has reached a pivotal milestone in the development of its Ridge Magnesium project in British Columbia by securing a license to cut authorization from the provincial government. This critical permit allows the company to begin clearing timber on over 50 hectares of land, a necessary step to start construction and move toward commercial production. The project is positioned as the most advanced onshore magnesium resource in North America, with additional reserves containing silica, nickel, and iron, all of which are classified as critical minerals essential for various industrial sectors. With previous permits for mining operations and highway access already secured, the company has now cleared the remaining regulatory hurdles required to physically commence site preparation. The strategic importance of this project is underscored by the global reliance on China, which currently controls approximately 90% of magnesium production, creating a pressing need for secure domestic supply chains in North America. West High Yield aims to address this vulnerability by establishing an onshore processing facility as part of its Phase Two development plan. The company has already secured definitive agreements for the offtake and processing of minerals from the site for the first two years of operations. Furthermore, recent engagements at defense industrial conferences have highlighted strong interest in their magnesium capabilities, aligning with broader government initiatives to reduce dependency on foreign sources for critical materials. Despite a twenty-year journey marked by resilience through economic downturns and global events like the pandemic, the company is now converging permitting, technology, financing, and commercial development into a cohesive plan. The host noted that while the timeline has been lengthy due to regulatory processes in Canada, the company's persistence has given it a competitive advantage by completing the heavy lifting ahead of competitors. With air and water permits also nearing resolution, the focus shifts entirely to execution and finalizing the conditions attached to the new timber removal authorization. Looking ahead, West High Yield Resources targets achieving commercial status and beginning sales by 2027, marking the culmination of decades of work to bring a major critical mineral project online. The company views this phase not as a question of whether the mine can be developed, but rather as an opportunity to execute the final requirements and integrate into North America's supply chain. As they prepare to enter the field and remove timber, stakeholders are encouraged to follow their progress toward becoming a leading domestic source of magnesium and other essential minerals for the region and beyond.

Read the full video transcript

Today I'm with West High Yield Resources Barry Bane. You have just achieved another significant milestone. Where do you want to start? >> Well, first say hi Tracy. It's a pleasure to speak with you today as always. Um let's build on the announcement we put out today which u is the uh license to cut authorization with the BC government. Um just to remind everyone a bit about our story. West High Yield Resource, a critical minerals mine based in British Columbia with four critical minerals in magnesium, silica, nickel and iron. and uh we probably have the most preeminent uh magnesium resource onshore North America and are the most advanced with respect to development. So we had recently had our mines act permit in October issued to us. We had our highway access permit granted to us not long ago and the re most recent one of today that we announced was the license to cut which allows us now to go onto the property and start clearing uh some of the timber needed for us to start construction on the project and the development of the mine. So we're really excited. The story is no longer about whether record can be developed. It's about executing the remaining requirements and uh the financing and converting this large critical minerals resource into North American magnesium supply chain. >> The the license to cut and remove is is actually quite significant. You're allowed to cut, deck, and remove crown timber uh in over 50 hectares. That's significant. It sounds like a significant area but again our our footprint relative to the size of the resource and the value received is that value we can extract from the resource is very small. So yet it is a very good um environmental footprint relative to us coming out of the mine. So we're really excited about that and and looking forward to getting uh getting moving. And for those of you out there who may not be familiar with magnesium, magnesium is a sought-after uh one of the top critical minerals that many of the governments are seeking right now. Can you explain where you are on the food chain in North America for solving that supply chain problem here? >> So, as you just outlined, magnesium is a very uh critical mineral in so many verticals and uh China controls 90% of that. So there's a a need to have an onshore safe secure supply chain. And as I indicated earlier, we're the probably most advanced onshore project with respect to magnesium alone. But in our or we also can extract silica, nickel, and iron, which are all critical minerals. Um we have a definitive agreement in place for an offtake for the first two years of our or already that will be taken and processed. and our our objective is to build an onshore processing facility in the phase two of our development. Um I recently attended the Dipsy conference which is the uh um defense industrial um base uh collective down in Philadelphia and uh we were very fortunate just in advance of that conference they put out a solicitation for specifically magnesium. So our timing couldn't have been better to have that discussion um in at that conference with respect to our project. So, we're really excited about our submission for that and and the ongoing desire for critical mineral development on North America shore. >> And of course, with Carney's investment summit, I saw the list on the agenda and I wanted to know why you're not on the list. Well, we have we have made application and we will continue to do so within our own government and uh we have had some preliminary dialogue and we'll continue down that pathway to see uh if we can tap into uh the interest from our Canadian government. >> Well, especially considering you are the most advanced magnesium play in Canada. It that's my understanding. Correct me if I'm wrong. It it is I mean like I said we're mine permitted and and we have uh we have our process uh in finalization development to scale up. Um we we expect to be uh you know in commercial status and selling the or next in 2027. >> We're certainly watching Y resources and I do have a question for you. What is the next milestone? Because you guys have been at this for a long time. I know it's just because it's headline a headline today doesn't mean you haven't been at this for what I'm guessing 15 years. >> It's 20 years actually. And uh you know with a couple of hiccups in the middle with COVID and and the uh the 2008 meltdown. Uh the company has been very persistent and resilient and committed to this project. And unfortunately, it also speaks to sometimes the timing uh time frames for permitting in in Canada and British Columbia. And that's why we have a competitive advantage, I think, at this point in time because we've done the heavy lifting and we're ahead of the curve. We're mine permitted. We've got these two authorizations I mentioned. You asked about next steps. Well, as soon as it's practical, we've just got the permit yesterday for the license to cut. So, we're just going through the details on on all of the conditions and as soon as practical, we'll get into the field and start removing that timber. And the last two authorizations are air and water and we're close to having those resolved. So, you know, we're excited. This is a story now that's an emerging uh mindtomarket magnesium platform and and we're at the point now where there's permitting, commercial development, uh processing technology and financing all about to converge. So, we're an exciting story to follow and uh look forward to the next steps. >> And for those of you that want to find out more about why or West High Yield Resources, why is the trading symbol, please go to the following website, Barry, as always, it is a real pleasure. Thank you, >> Tracy. Appreciate it and look forward to our next opportunity to visit. Have a great day.