Manitoba councillors want mining company to clean up test site after project rejected

A pair of Manitoba councillors is calling on a mining company to clean up the preliminary work from a project that was recently rejected by the province.

Councillors Andy Kuczynski and Mark Miller from the RM of Springfield released a statement on Tuesday, saying that as a last responsibility Sio Silica should clean up every element of its original work at its test site. They said this includes replanting trees and vegetation, remediating sand piles, proper well decommissioning and land access mitigation.

Kuczynski and Miller’s call comes after the Manitoba government announced last week that it was denying Sio Silica an environmental licence for its proposed silica sand mine near Vivian, Man.

Premier Wab Kinew said that Sio Silica was proposing a new method of extraction, and that the province couldn’t guarantee the safety of the drinking water with this unproven approach.

In a statement from last week, Sio Silica said the province’s decision was a big loss for Manitoba and that’s its evaluating its legal options.

CTV News Winnipeg has reached out to Sio Silica to see if it has any plans for clean up.

- With files from CTV’s Katherine Dow.