Western Resources Corp. announced that the Board of Directors approved a three-phase development plan (the “Plan”) for the Milestone Potash Project and the Phase I early works, at a meeting held on April 19, 2018. Through an assessment of the overall global potash market situation and the progress the project has achieved to date, the Management presented to the Board a three-phase development plan for the full-scale 2.8 million tonnes per annum capacity Milestone Potash Project (for which a Feasibility Study was completed in 2012 and Environmental Approval was obtained in 2013). The Plan includes the Phase I Project at an annual capacity of 146,000 tonnes of granular potash by applying a “horizontal cavern development + selective solution mining + crystal pond recovery” technique. Then, Phase II & III, each at annual capacity of 1.4 million tonnes of potash, will continue to utilise the same innovative mining methodology to provide improved economics based on the proven mining experience gained from Phase I. In addition, the Phase I Project has received updated Environmental Approval under Saskatchewan’s Environmental Assessment Act in June 2017, and has completed an amended “Development Agreement” with the Rural Municipality of Lajord (“RM of Lajord”) in August 2017. The project continues to receive strong support from the local community, businesses and governments. The innovative mining technique of horizontal drilling with selective solution mining has been further optimized with the help of the world leader in selective horizontal dissolution, Agapito Associates. The first stage of the Phase I Project, to be completed in 2018, includes hauling aggregates to the site, site preparation, development of a groundwater source well for the Phase I Project, utility works and haul road designs, etc. The Board has approved a budget of $13.58 million for the early works in the meeting. Since Phase I requires an addition of a compaction system to meet with the new market requirements, the final engineering of Phase I will be completed by early 2019, together with CAPEX and OPEX updates. Given the successful result of the groundwater source well and early works, the Company anticipates formal sanction of the Phase I Project in Quarter 2 of 2019.