Sio Silica is planning to try again with a controversial mining project in the same spot using the same method that the province rejected less than a year ago, but this time with more community engagement.
Feisal Somji, the president and CEO of the Alberta-based mining company, said in an interview with CTV News that his company is hoping to submit a new proposal for a silica sand project in the new year.
“We’ve never left Manitoba. We’ve always been here. We do want to proceed with the new application when the timing is right,” he said.
In February, the province rejected a proposal from Sio Silica to set up a mining operation in an area near Vivian, Man.
Manitoba’s premier and environment minister said the environmental concerns outweighed ‘uncertain’ economic benefits.
“The technology that Sio is proposing to use is a new method of extraction. With this unproven approach, we cannot guarantee the safety of drinking water for future generations in this part of Manitoba,” Kinew said at the time. “For these reasons, we are saying no to Sio and refusing the license today.”
Sio Silica had previously proposed extracting up to 1.36 million tonnes of silica sand per year by drilling wells into the area’s water aquifer over 24 years.
Somji confirmed his company is going to give it another try under the name Project SiMbA.
“The location is still the same as what we were working through the last time. We’re looking at a facility down close to the Town of Vivian in the RM of Springfield,” he said, adding the proposed method for extracting the silica sand would also be the same.
“We still believe that, and we’ve been trying to demonstrate that the process that we want to use is safe.”
A report by the Clean Environment Commission (CEC) found that while some of the risks identified may have a low probability of occurring, there are uncertainties about the impact on water quality due to the project’s experimental nature.
You can read the full CEC report online.
The project had faced fierce opposition from some residents in the community who feared the project could affect their drinking water – supplied by the same aquifer Sio Silica would want to drill into.
When asked what would be different this time around, Somji said his company will be incorporating the recommendations made in the CEC report, along with comments his company has gathered during engagement sessions throughout the province.
“We’re looking to bring all that together in an application that answers and provides solutions to all of those concerns that were expressed in the past,” he said.
Somji said at this point he hasn’t had any discussions with the province about a new application.
CTV News had reached out for comment from Tracy Schmidt, Manitoba’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change. A press secretary for Schmidt told CTV News the province hasn’t received any application and is unable to comment on something they haven’t received.
“The demand for a high-purity silica like the one sitting here in Manitoba is only increasing on a daily basis,” Somji told CTV News. “We’re hopeful that the government will be open to discussions about a new application because of the economic opportunities and the jobs that will go with it.”
This is a developing story. More to come.