BURSTAn application that could prevent construction of an open pit mine near Rossland will be heard this week by BC Supreme Court at the Rossland Courthouse.
The Save Record Ridge Action Committee Society (SRRAC) is asking the Court to prevent construction of West High Yield Resources Ltd. (WHY) proposed mineral mine from proceeding until the Court can rule on the province’s decision not to require an environmental assessment for the project.
“In our view, construction should not move ahead while this matter remains before the courts,” said SRRAC director Melanie Mercier in a release. “We are asking the Court to ensure that the legal issues are resolved before irreversible steps are taken on Record Ridge.”
The Record Ridge mine site is located approximately 8 km from the City of Rossland, a BC resort municipality that recently co-hosted the BC Games, and is a recreation area used by hikers, mountain bikers, and backcountry skiers.
SRRAC says the project would be the closest open-pit mineral mine to a municipality anywhere in the province. Record ridge includes rare high-elevation grasslands and old-growth forest ecosystems.
According to WHY Resources, the company project has gone through rigorous scrutiny and the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) concluded that the Record Ridge Mine did not warrant an environmental assessment.
The B.C. Supreme Court will hear the application in a hearing scheduled for March 9-10 at the Rossland Courthouse.
In August 2024, the EAO determined that the proposed Record Ridge mine required a full environmental assessment.
Yet, in September 2024, WHY Resources amended its application that showed the mine’s annual production capacity had been reduced below the regulatory threshold.
SRRAC and several other organizations submitted evidence explaining why the project remained reviewable and should still undergo an environmental assessment. SRRAC filed a judicial review challenging that decision in September 2025.
WHY Resources president Frank Marasco Jr. said that the company remains comitted to building a sustainable operation that delivers critical minerals while protecting the environment and creating lasting benefits for local communities and Indigenous partners.
WHY recently reported that it signed a contract with Process Research Ortech (PRO) Inc. of Mississauga, Ont. to conduct a pilot test of its proprietary metallurgical processing technology at its magnesium/silica Record Ridge industrial minerals project, as early as February.
SRRAC has tried to schedule a hearing since October 2025, but legal counsel for the company advised that they do not have availability until August 2026.
WHY also reported that the B.C. Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals has granted it a multi-year area-based exploration permit valid for a five-year period.
“This permit authorizes the Company to carry out additional exploration activities, including drilling, on its mineral claims located outside the designated Record Ridge mining area, which is now fully covered under the existing Permit.”
The project’s Mines Act permit allows construction to begin April 1, 2026.
SRRAC contends that once clearing, blasting, and excavation begin on Record Ridge, the resulting changes to the landscape cannot be undone and that construction should not begin before the Court has ruled on the matter.
Without a stay or injunction from the Court, SRRAC says construction could begin before the Court determines whether the project should have undergone a full environmental assessment.
The judicial review hearing is currently scheduled for August 2026.