Sio Silica, an Alberta mining company, has put forward a revised proposal for an environmental license in southeastern Manitoba. The new application suggests drilling a reduced number of wells and extracting a smaller amount of sand compared to the initial plan.
Manitoba Environment and Climate Change recently opened up for feedback on this updated application from Sio Silica. The company’s original request to drill 7,200 wells over 24 years to extract 33 million tonnes of sand was turned down by Manitoba’s NDP government in 2024. This decision came after concerns were raised by the Clean Environment Commission about the potential impact of sand mining on water quality and geological stability.
Addressing these concerns, Sio Silica’s new proposal outlines a phased approach involving drilling wells gradually over the first five years of operation. The extracted water would undergo purification before being returned underground. The company also plans to reduce the number of wells and sand extraction volume during the initial five-year period.
According to biologist Marlene Gifford, representing Sio Silica, this adjusted strategy aims to monitor environmental impacts closely and ensure the safety and sustainability of the operations. Sio Silica intends to drill 23 wells in the first year, increasing to 137 by the fifth year, and extracting a maximum of 1.9 million tonnes of sand within this timeframe.
The proposed drilling location is a 28-square-kilometre area in the rural municipality of Springfield, southwest of Vivian, a smaller footprint compared to the original plan spanning an 82-square-kilometre area. Despite these changes, some local residents, like Tangi Bell from the silica-mining opposition group Our Line In The Sand, remain unconvinced, stating that the risks associated with the mining method are still high.
Premier Wab Kinew emphasized that the new application will undergo the environmental approval process in Manitoba. The government is open to collaborating with experts and environmentalists to review future sand mining proposals in southeastern Manitoba. Previously, there were ethical concerns raised regarding attempts to approve the project’s environmental license after the change in government, as highlighted by the ethics commissioner’s ruling on former premier Heather Stefanson’s actions. Additionally, the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation voted against partnering with Sio Silica in a recent referendum.