Image Credit: Vitreo Minerals Ltd.

By Adam Berls

angus project

Frac sand mine project proposed, 10km east of Bear Lake

Aug 11, 2023 | 12:52 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — A new proposed project north of Prince George is only in the consultation stage right now, but the company who is proposing the mine project says it comes with a lot of promise.

Vitreo Minerals Ltd. is proposing to develop the Angus Project, a proppant mine located approximately 60 kilometres north of Prince George and 10 kilometres east of Bear Lake. Scott Broughton is the President and CEO of Vitreo Minerals.

“It’s to mine and process some high grade silica resources that are there … In the case of Angus, our target market is going to be to sell material into the oil and gas industry and they’ll be using this some of this silica as a proppant in their hydraulic fracturing.” – Scott Broughton, President & CEO, Vitreo Minerals Ltd.

Proppant, often called frac sand, is used in hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, to prop open the fractures that are created during crude oil and natural gas extraction. In terms of scale, Vitreo says that this mine will be smaller, similar to a quarry style operation. Vitreo also says that because of the scale of the mine, the mine would not have tailings impoundments and a tailings dam.

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Location of the mine off of Highway 97. Image Credit: Vitreo Minerals Ltd.

In terms of a timeline for this project, Vitreo is still in the consultation process and is waiting for a decision from the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, and are still in discussions with local First Nations. 2026 is when Vitreo says they will be in a position to make an investment decision to build a mine. It is estimated that this project could create 150 jobs for construction and 150 jobs for the operation of the mine.

“In terms of timelines, we’re going to be in this process of trying to achieve an environmental assessment certificate all the way through to probably the end of 2025 and at that point in time we’ll have other permits that are required, a quarry permit, for example, and other environmental permits. So it’s not till, you know, probably early 2026 when we’ll be in a position to make an investment decision to build a mine.” – Scott Broughton, President & CEO, Vitreo Minerals Ltd.

Vitreo is proposing that the mine could have a production capacity of 2.9 million tonnes per year for up to 20 years.

An in-person Public Open House will be held August 22, 2023, at the Bear Lake Community Hall from 4:00 – 8:00 pm. A Virtual Information Session will be held online August 29, 2023, from 5:00-7:00 pm. You can also leave online feedback about this project HERE. Online feedback will be allowed until September 11, 2023.

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Twitter: @AdamBerls

Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com