Sio Silica plans to try again with controversial project in Manitoba

'That anger is back' Concerns is building after a silica sand mining project is trying to reboot in eastern Manitoba. CTV's Danton Unger reports.

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.”

Read more: Manitoba refuses licence for controversial silica sand extraction project

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.

Sio Silica trying again with new project name, same method and location

Somji confirmed his company is going to give it another try under the name Project SiMbA. The name stands for Silica and Manitoba, Somji said, adding it is a symbol of a lion representing strength and independence.

While the name may be new, Somji said the location will be the same.

“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.

The full report can be read here.

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.

‘It was disbelief’: Concerns building over Sio Silica’s potential return

Tangi Bell is the chair of Our Line in the Sand – a group of Manitoba residents concerned about the watershed in the eastern parts of the province.

She said the news of Sio Silica’s potential return has been felt throughout her group.

“Disgusted, disbelief, and that anger is back,” she said. “That anger, that stress, it's just that loop back again.”

The group had been fighting against the project since it was proposed the first time.

“For them to say that it'll be in the same place, which is Manitoba drinking water, using the same mining process, which has inherent consequences. It's high risk,” she said.

“It was disbelief. It was really disbelief.”

First Nation engagement underway in effort for economic reconciliation: Sio Silica

When asked what would be different this time around, Somji said his company is in the process of more public engagement with various communities across the province.

“We are talking to a variety of groups right now, and I think, you know, looking at ways to do proper economic reconciliation within the sort of Treaty One area,” he said. “The discussions are ongoing, and they're with several different groups.”

Brokenhead Ojibway Nation is among those communities Sio Silica is engaging with.

Deborah Smith, a member of the First Nation and former chief, told CTV News Sio Silica held three round-table meetings with community members earlier this month.

“The membership was presented a five-minute video from Sio Silica about their proposed project, and it explained the extraction process that the company will use on the project,” Smith said, adding she had serious concerns with the previous proposed project.

“We were again concerned of any potential runoff or any leakage into the Brokenhead River, and the river flows into Lake Winnipeg.”

She said she believes more public consultation has to happen with band members about the project, and is planning a community forum this weekend.

“Make no mistake, development cannot happen and come at the expense of our land and water,” Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Chief Gordon Bluesky told CTV News.

Bluesky said for too long, First Nation communities have been left out of discussions and decisions that impact their land.

“We need to ensure that our interests and our concerns and our environmental stewardship responsibilities are taken into consideration for every step from here going forward,” Bluesky said.

He said Sio Silica discussed a potential partnership agreement beyond the provincial approval, but noted no decisions have been made.

Somji wasn’t able to say what is being discussed with the communities, citing confidentiality. He said the comments gathered during this engagement period will inform a new application to 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, noting Sio Silica will also be addressing the eight recommendations made in the CEC report.

Sio Silica hopeful government will be open to discussions

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.

Silica is used for a variety of products including solar panels and lithium-ion batteries.

“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, adding the project would bring new jobs and industries to the province. “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.”