Feds, province to contribute up to $272M toward proposed Manitoba silica sand mining, processing

An Alberta company that wants to mine silica sand and process it into solar panel glass in Manitoba says it has secured letters of intent from the federal and provincial governments to contribute grants and loans, and conduct infrastructure work that will cover almost a third of the project's start-up costs.
Canadian Premium Sand, which received a provincial environmental licence to extract and process sand in February, announced Wednesday that Ottawa and Manitoba intend to contribute up to $272 million toward the $880-million project.
The publicly traded Calgary-based company plans to mine the sand at a surface quarry at Hollow Water First Nation, on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, and process it into glass at a 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Selkirk.
The federal government intends to provide $100 million worth of grants toward the project and up to $100 million worth of loan guarantees to First Nations interested in investing in the project, CEO Glenn Leroux said.
The provincial government intends to contribute $40 million worth of loans and build a $32-million road from Provincial Road 304, near Manigotagan, to Hollow Water, he said.
Leroux said his company must now raise the rest of the capital it needs to complete the project.
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