The Mildred Lake Mine Extension West (MLX-W) will help sustain bitumen production after depletion of the current North Mine, enabling continued use of existing extraction and upgrading facilities and avoiding the need for new tailings ponds.
 Regulatory approvals were secured in 2019, with extensive consultation and agreements reached with local Indigenous communities, and construction activities restarted in 2021 after a pandemic pause. 
In June 2025, Syncrude achieved a major milestone by extracting first ore from MLX West, keeping the project on track for full operational status by the end of 2025 and ensuring ongoing economic benefits for the region, including significant royalty and tax revenue for Alberta and Canada.