A new proposition and associated memorandum of understanding for a silica mine in southeastern Manitoba is resurfacing past environmental and ethical concerns in the province, Premier Wab Kinew says.
Alberta-based Sio Silicia and Arctic Gateway Group, which operates the Port of Churchill, entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two international companies, according to a news release from Arctic Gateway Group. The Canadian companies will work with German solar panel manufacturers, RCT Solutions GmbH (RCT Solutions), and the U.S.-based company, NanoXSolar.
Together they aim to extract silica that is as pure as possible, at over 99.9 per cent, to build a “fully integrated solar manufacturing hub in Manitoba,” according to a news release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Before that work can begin, it must be approved by the provincial government.
“I work for the people of eastern Manitoba not for the Davos crowd,” Kinew told 680 CJOB on Thursday morning, referencing the annual gathering of politicians and executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“And so, we’re going to continue to put the drinking water and the priorities of people who live in this province first.”
Former Progressive Conservative premier Heather Stefanson, alongside some cabinet ministers, violated the province’s conflict-of-interest law by pushing for the silica mine’s approval, Manitoba’s ethics commissioner found in 2025.
Kinew said the province will launch a public inquiry into the company’s previous actions while speaking on 680 CJOB.
He says he is not opposed to mining, but environmental and ethical considerations must come first.
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“We want economic development activity, but I don’t think we want it at all costs, and I don’t think we need to say yes to everything,” the premier said.
Sio Silica’s mining operation would be near the Manitoban RM of Springfield.
Springfield Mayor Patrick Therrien told Global News he will defer to the province’s direction but said he and his council have shared their thoughts on the record in a letter to the province during the project’s first attempt at approval, which was denied over environmental concerns. The letter expressed concerns about the water quality and safety.
Sio Silica president Carla Devlin says the company is working to ensure nearby communities are involved, and the company will host meetings that residents can attend.
“We are putting in place as many checks and balances as we can to ensure that the aquifer is protected and that we’re transparent throughout the project,” Devlin told Global News.
The plant is expected to create 8,000 direct jobs and 17,000 indirect jobs in the community, she added.
“It’s a $3.2 billion capital investment into Manitoba’s economy and it needs our resource to create those panels,” Devlin told 680 CJOB Wednesday night.
It would require around 1,000 acres of land, and Devlin said the eventual site would be near highways and communities.
“We come out of the ground at one of the highest purities, at 99.86 (per cent) and then with a simple magnetic water wash, we become 99.9 (per cent pure). Then through processing, we enter advanced manufacturing. And that’s what brings to our province the value added,” she said.
Once purified, the company will ship the resource to RCT Solutions in Germany, with four ships’ worth expected to go through the Port of Churchill annually.
Silica sand, or silica dioxide, is a chemical compound that naturally forms out of oxygen and silicon. It can be used to produce solar glass panels, computer chips and 3D printed materials.
The announcement of an agreement was made at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. The office of Prime Minister Mark Carney announced 13 new Canadian partnerships and initiatives in total, one of which will create a pure silica sand and solar manufacturing centre in southeastern Manitoba, his office said Wednesday.
Our Line in the Sand, a group of environmentally conscious concerned citizens, said the agreement made by Carney and the German chancellor is “presumptuous.”
“We thought it was a serious error in judgment,” Tangi Bell, chair of Our Line in the Sand, said. “We really don’t think they are in touch with the people or the planet when it comes to development,” she said.
“(Sio Silica’s) modelling shows that heavy metal contamination occurs in the aquifer. This is an aquifer that supports the southeast region with water, businesses with water, the ecosystem with water. It is demented to even consider doing that to the southeast bedrock aquifer system.”
Bell said Ottawa should seek evidence-based, environmentally friendly projects, not backdoor agreements.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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