Latest news with #silica
CBC
01-08-2025
- Business
- CBC
Brokenhead Ojibway Nation holds referendum on Sio Silica partnership
Brokenhead Ojibway Nation is holding a referendum on a prospective partnership with Alberta mining company Sio Silica, which wants to drill thousands of wells in southeastern Manitoba to extract silica sand. Brokenhead announced Thursday it will hold an online referendum on the prospective partnership from Aug. 1 to Aug. 8 as well as an in-person vote at Private Tom Chief Memorial Hall at the community northeast of Winnipeg on Aug. 8. The partnership calls for Brokenhead to receive five per cent of the profits from Sio Silica's mining operations with Brokenhead, a share estimated at $20 million in annual revenue for the First Nation once the project reaches full capacity, according to a notice sent to band members from Brokenhead's chief and council. The partnership may also result in jobs and training opportunities for Brokenhead members, company president Carla Devlin said Thursday. A "yes" vote in the referendum would result in Brokenhead and Sio Silica working out a final agreement and setting up a joint oversight committee to consider the environmental impacts of Sio Silica's operations, according to the notice. A "no" vote would result in a rejection of the profit-sharing offer, the notice states. "However, should the Province of Manitoba approve the project, BON [Brokenhead Ojibway Nation] will still be tasked with negotiating an impact benefit agreement, though the terms — particularly the profit sharing — may differ from the final offer," the notice reads. Brokenhead Chief Gordon Bluesky said Thursday in a statement that any proposal to extract resources from Brokenhead's territory has to come before the band's membership. The First Nation has 2,307 members living on and off reserve. "Historically, we have not benefited from any resource project or land use in our area, only impacted. This must end and our community and our members must be part of the decision-making process," Bluesky said. While none of the wells Sio Silica proposes to drill are located on Brokenhead reserve land, the Ojibway community is the closest First Nation to the land where Sio Silica owns mineral rights, Devlin has said. New licence application to come Devlin said her company plans to submit a new environmental licence application to the province within one week. The application, she said, is ready to be submitted. "We were respectfully waiting for [Brokenhead] leadership to hold their referendum," she said. A spokesperson for Manitoba's NDP government declined to comment Thursday. In 2024, the NDP government rejected an earlier Sio Silica application to extract up to 33 million tonnes of high-grade silica from below the surface of southeastern Manitoba over 24 years. The province rejected the initial environmental licence application over concerns about the potential effects on water quality and the geological stability of the aquifer containing crystalline quartz, which can be used to produce solar panels, batteries and semiconductors. The company proposed to drill up to 7,200 wells to the east and southeast of Winnipeg to extract the sought-after substance from about 50 metres below the surface. The Clean Environment Commission, an arm's-length provincial body, raised concerns about the proposal in a 2023 report. The Commission advised the government only to approve it after applying conditions to the proposal and to insist it proceed in stages, with only a few mines drilled at first. "As a general principle, full-scale production should only proceed if and when the body of scientific and engineering evidence confirms that the risks are adequately understood and manageable," the commission advised in its report. Sio Silica CEO Feisal Somji told Brokenhead members in Winnipeg in early July his company has revised its proposal to drill more gradually, with 25 wells planned for its first year of operation followed by 75 wells the next year. Somji also suggested the company erred in its earlier public relations efforts by describing its sand extraction process as utilizing new technology. "One of the mistakes that we made in the past is we talked about it being a patent pending process and that was really just an element of advantage that we could have on our competitors," he said at the July meeting. Sio Silica's president Devlin also serves as the mayor of East St. Paul, where Brokenhead owns 194 hectares of land, including a three-hectare reserve established two decades ago and another 25-hectare parcel that will become a new Brokenhead reserve. The mining company is listed as a platinum sponsor of Brokenhead's Treaty Days, an annual community celebration which runs this year from Aug. 5 to 10. Bluesky did not respond to a request to comment about Sio Silica's sponsorship coinciding with the Sio Silica partnership referendum. Devlin said Sio Silica sponsored Treaty Days in 2024 and intends to do so again in 2026. She said the company will not make any effort to sway opinion in the community in the coming 10 days. "We will not be lobbying in the time from when the vote opens [Friday] to the vote closes," Devlin said. Sio Silica has also purchased airtime on Winnipeg radio stations, social media ads and advertisements at Richardson International Airport, all aimed at a general audience of Manitobans. "This is the largest-known deposit of high purity quartz in the world and the demand for it is growing," Devlin said. "This demand is real. The buyers are lined up and we're ready to go and we want to put Manitobans to work."
ABC News
07-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Snowy 2.0 concrete lab at Lobs Hole closed amid silica concerns
A concrete testing lab at the multi-billion-dollar Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project has been closed for nearly two months amid concerns workers were being exposed to silica. SafeWork NSW said it responded to a request for service at Lobs Hole Test Laboratory on May 15 regarding concerns about respirable crystalline silica (RCS). The inhalation of fine silica dust can result in the lung disease silicosis, causing long-term lung damage that can be fatal. SafeWork NSW documents seen by the ABC revealed the health and safety authority believed workers were exposed to "respirable dust and RCS in [a] lab building at Lobs Hole". In a statement, SafeWork NSW told the ABC the business had "ceased use of the laboratory" while the concerns were being addressed. "SafeWork NSW enquiries remain open as work continues with the business and the health and safety representatives to ensure adequate control measures are implemented," the statement read. Snowy Hydro was directed to take measures to mitigate further risks, including cleaning the lab's walls and floors, and putting in additional ventilation systems to extract dust from all rooms in the building. Concrete testing operations have not been impacted by the lab's closure, as testing has been diverted to another lab. Snowy Hydro confirmed up to 12 employees worked in the Lobs Hole concrete lab. In a statement, Snowy Hydro said it expected "the highest standards of safety, focus and leadership" from its principal contractor on the project Future Generation Joint Venture (FGJV). "We are always clear that the safety and wellbeing of the Snowy 2.0 workforce must always come first," the statement read. The project is located in the NSW Snowy Mountains. In March, the NSW government formed an expert taskforce of government, medical, industry and union representatives to address silica-related health risks to tunnelling project workers across the state. Monash University professor of respiratory pharmacology Jane Bourke said workers in industries like tunnelling, mining and construction, and those working with engineered stone bench tops, could be exposed to silica dust. "If it [silica dust] is ground to very small-sized particles, it can bypass all the body's normal defence mechanisms that we have when we breathe in things that shouldn't be in our body," she said. "The body's not able to cough it out or clear it from the lungs. And this eventually causes inflammation and scarring of the lungs." Professor Bourke said silicosis in the tunnelling industry was "an area of emerging concern", after more than a dozen Sydney tunnel workers were diagnosed with the incurable disease. "It would be naive to think that the disease is absent in other workplaces where there would be a similar level of risk," she said. In a statement, contractor Future Generation Joint Venture (FGJV) said it prioritised "the safety and wellbeing of its workforce as a fundamental aspect of the operation". "FGJV is proactive and works in collaboration with health and safety representatives and SafeWork NSW to ensure the highest standards of wellbeing for those delivering Snowy 2.0," it said. SafeWork NSW told the ABC it had an "active presence in tunnelling projects". The Snowy 2.0 project is expected to provide up to 2.2 gigawatts of electricity to the national grid once completed. The controversial project is expected to start delivering power in late 2027, following a string of setbacks. Work on the $12 billion project stopped in January when concerns were raised about the status of "last resort" chambers, designed to be used in an emergency when workers were unable to evacuate. Underground work was also halted again for three weeks in late February, after a ventilation fan imploded on site and sent metal shrapnel flying through the air.
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Worcestershire quarry gets green light amid air pollution fears
Close to half a million tonnes of sand and gravel will be quarried from land next to two Worcestershire villages, despite residents' fears of a risk to health from airborne firm Cemex plans to carry out three years of excavation on farmland close to Ripple and Uckinghall, to supply what it called "critical construction supplies" for the local works, which would extract materials to a depth of up to 5.5m, were approved by Worcestershire County Council's planning committee on the quarrying is complete, it is proposed that the site be restored to a mixture of farmland and wetland. Operator Cemex already has a number of quarries in south Ripple East site sits next to a previous quarry, which since 2015 has been restored as a local residents said the new dig was too close to homes, with the nearest property approximately 40m from the proposed excavation."Cemex have gone one step too far," said Ripple resident Nick Harknett, who spoke at the planning committee hearing on Tuesday morning. While he said he appreciated the benefits of operations at the first site, Mr Harknett stressed residents' fears of the dangers of dust pollution, particularly from silica found within the of the very fine particles has been linked to lung diseases such as silicosis and cancer."Silica is the new asbestos… you're playing with people's lives here," he told the meeting. "This site is too close to the villages."He urged county councillors to reject the plans, despite them being recommended for approval by officers."Airborne silica can be taken directly into the lungs," said Green councillor Martin Allen, who represents the local division and who proposed the application's refusal. Allen argued the project's impact on the local community would fail to meet the objectives of the county's mineral extraction plan."Other countries warn about residents living near quarries' exposure to risk," he said."We used to have a 200-metre exclusion zone under the old mineral extraction plan."In a vote, Allen's motion was defeated. In a subsequent vote, councillors then approved the application. "There's no basis for talking about silicosis in the way that's been put forward today," said Rich Marsden, Cemex's development said no cases of the disease had been associated with the sand and gravel industry and that it was not a risk for the general population."We are the most heavily regulated industry in the country," added Mark Kelly, Cemex's UK planning stressed the site's importance in supplying the local construction sector with building an written submission, the county's public health team raised no objections to the an officer stated they did have some concerns regarding the cumulative effect on air quality of two quarries operating simultaneously, they highlighted a mitigation plan would be put in place to protect residents' health."Silica is one of the most common materials on the planet… this proposed extraction is not considered to represent a high risk," said Steve Aldridge, the county council's development manager. Sand and gravel excavated from the Ripple East site would be transported by barge about two miles up the River Severn to Cemex's Ryall concrete plant, also close to where the firm has submitted another application for on the Ripple East site is also expected to take place at the same time as another firm, Cullimore, begins quarrying on the other side of the M50 motorway."We already have at least seven quarries in our small parish, either completed, active or in the planning stage," said resident Jessica Wardle before the meeting."Our villages may soon be islands in a sea of quarries," she said. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. Reports Results of 2025 Annual General Meeting
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2025) - Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) (FSE: 7FJ) ("QI Materials", "QIMC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of its Annual General (the "Meeting"), held on June 30, 2025. At the Meeting, the shareholders of the Company voted on key resolutions, the election of directors, and other corporate matters, all of which received overwhelming support. Furthermore, the Company acknowledges Jakson Inwentash for his service, who has served as a director. QIMC wishes him continued success in his future endeavors. For more information about Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. and its products, please visit About Québec Innovative Materials Corp. Québec Innovative Materials Corp. is a mineral exploration, and development company dedicated to exploring and harnessing the potential of Canada's abundant resources. With properties in Ontario and Québec, QIMC is focused on specializing in the exploration of white (natural) hydrogen and high-grade silica deposits, QIMC is committed to sustainable practices and innovation. With a focus on environmental stewardship and cutting-edge extraction technology, we aim to unlock the full potential of these materials to drive forward clean energy solutions to power the AI and carbon-neutral economy and contribute to a more sustainable future. QUÉBEC INNOVATIVE MATERIALS KaragiannidisChief Executive OfficerTel: +1 438-401-8271 For further information, please contact: Email: info@ Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the CSE policies) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Québec Innovative Materials' actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur. Although Québec Innovative Materials believes the forward-looking information contained in this news release is reasonable based on information available on the date hereof, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Examples of such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, assumptions, risks and uncertainties associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments in the mining sector; the Company's ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favorable terms; mining industry and markets in Canada and generally; the ability of Québec Innovative Materials Corp. to implement its business strategies; competition; and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CTV News
03-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘Almost intolerable:' Airdrie business concerned over potentially hazardous dust emitted from concrete company
Airdrie's Western R.V. dealership says its neighbour, Tanas Concrete, has not been cleaning up the mess left behind by its plant. Some Airdrie business owners are concerned about the dust blowing over from a neighbouring concrete business, calling it a health and environmental hazard. Western R.V., a dealership for recreational vehicles and campers says their vehicles are consistently coated in dust coming from the business to the southeast. Tanas Concrete, now owned by Lafarge, has been operating on 58 East Lake Crescent since 2016. Bruce Urban says he's noticed more dust and activity within the past five years, and says his staff and customers are worried about inhaling the fine dust. 'It's getting almost intolerable at this point,' he said. He and his son Brandon, tell CTV News they have reached out to the Airdrie mayor's office, every councillor, local MLAs and federally elected officials to address their concerns and complaints. 'I need to try to take action, but what's the action when the politicians don't want to listen? When you're up against a wall like that, my question is what do you do? Do you shut down your business because your employees are being put through this?' said Urban. Concrete and silica Concrete often contains crystalline silica, which can be harmful when inhaled, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). It adds, silica particles can have damaging effects on the lungs, and have been known to cause lung cancer. CTV News has reached out to Lafarge, and is waiting for a response to our request for comment. The City of Airdrie sent a statement which reads: 'An investigation is currently underway. We are unable to provide any specific details until the investigation is complete.' The city is also working to determine 'which areas of the expressed concern fall within the municipal areas of responsibility.' According to open data, the land-use for the concrete business is zoned as a heavy industrial employment district, while the adjacent properties to the north are zoned as an industrial park employment district. 'Clean it up' The property owner of a parcel of land to the immediate west of the concrete company says he too has been reaching out to various government organizations with concerns. 'I'd just like to see the City of Airdrie follow what the Alberta government says they should be doing,' said Ken Maines before adding, 'clean it up.' The province sent an Environmental Protection Officer to the Tanas Concrete property on May 14, according to an email obtained by CTV News from the department of Environment and Protected Areas. The officer provided a list of corrective actions for the company. These actions include; daily road sweeping in the yard and public roads, improvements to its street sweeper machinery, regrading land in the yard, installing a mat system to clean mud off the cars, and 'application of calcium chloride on their yard for dust control will be completed by the first week in June 2025.' As for health concerns, the email stated: 'Understanding the potential health impacts that the dust may have, EPA does not address specific health hazards. For concerns related to health and safety, we recommend contacting Alberta Health Services and/or Alberta Occupational Health Safety directly, as they are the appropriate authority to provide guidance and support on these matters.' Brandon Urban says he will be directing further complaints about dust as suggested. His father, Bruce Urban, says he wants to see a more urgent response. 'We need somebody to listen.'
