By Brett McKay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Investigative Journalism Foundation
It’s a critical mineral for the oil industry, but Alberta’s plan to vastly expand silica exploration and mining has environmentalists worried.
A ministerial directive issued by Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen in August creates new categories of “enhanced” silica exploration and mining leases. Alberta’s existing sand and gravel allocation policy allows a maximum size for surface material exploration (SME) approvals of 320 acres. Companies that meet financial and technical criteria in the ministerial directive can now be authorized to hold up to two enhanced SMEs for an area of up to 5,700 acres each.
At the same time, the government will now allow companies to hold surface mining leases of up to 200 acres, up from 80 acres.
Alberta’s major sand deposits
The major sand deposits in Alberta are found along rivers and their tributaries. And the government’s intended expansion of silica mining in these areas brings added risk of environmental impacts, said Kennedy Halvorson, a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association.
“Allowing exploration to happen at such a larger scale, without many boundaries, is not forward thinking, especially considering if these deposits are primarily near our major waterways and our tributaries,” she said.
When the tit for tat tariff dispute between the U.S. and Canada threatened to add millions to the cost of importing certain minerals, Alberta companies rallied to have the province loosen rules around mining and exploration in a bid to boost domestic production of silica and quartz sand — a required component in hydraulic fracturing.
Though the tariffs on silica were short-lived — the Government of Canada granted a “remission” in July — the province has pushed ahead with legislative changes enabling a massive expansion of silica mining on public lands.
An Oct. 16 joint news release from Alberta’s energy, environment and forestry ministers touted a new policy to increase investment in silica sand production, saying the government was “reducing red tape, shortening decision times and enhancing accessibility on public lands.” But the announcement included no details about which regulations had been rewritten.
“Our government is streamlining decision-making and expanding the size of available surface exploration and extraction leases for silica sand, creating conditions that attract long-term, larger-scale industry investment through faster approvals,” Loewen told the IJF in a statement.
To support what the province calls “efficient and appropriate decision-making,” the ministerial order says regulatory approvals for enhanced exploration permits or surface leases won’t include requirements and considerations addressed by Alberta’s Water Act or other statutes.
“I think the red tape language is always a bit of a red flag, because we want to make sure there is good oversight into these processes,” Halvorson said.
“If you’re mining near or in a river, you can deepen or widen channels. You can create bank and slope instability. You can increase erosion. You can change the hydrology that can lead to habitat loss and fragmentation. You can increase turbidity and the suspended solids in the water, which then can reduce the ability of aquatic species to breathe or for the plants to go through photosynthesis.”
Strip-mining or pit-mining
Because sand deposits tend to sit close to the surface, sand mining companies often use strip-mining or pit-mining techniques to remove the top layers of soil and vegetation.
Halvorson said there is a pervasive notion that exploration, whether it’s related to mining or oil and gas development, is a non-destructive process. However, she said the act of going into a habitat, searching for minerals, and taking samples also has impacts on the landscape.
No changes to the Water Actwere made related to the enhanced exploration and surface lease regulations, Forestry and Parks press secretary Michael Plenits told the IJF, but the act “continues to provide the same strong protection for Alberta’s water, and these silica sand dispositions continue to be fully subject to the Water Act.”
Province consults sand operators and municipalities
Plenits did not directly answer questions about how the government settled on the size limits of 5,700 acres for exploration leases and 200 acres for surface mine leases. Before introducing these changes, the ministry consulted municipalities and current silica sand operators, he said.
Directors from Peaskie Minerals and Sil Industrial Minerals, two of the province’s biggest sand mining operators, were some of the industry players who met with representatives of Alberta’s forestry and environment ministries. As tariff costs spurred panic in the fracking industry, Peaskie board member and former Alberta cabinet minister Doug Horner worked the phones to arrange meetings with government officials, according to an Edmonton Journal article.
Among the hurdles industry operators said were holding back production were the 80-acre limit on public land leases and the requirement that companies complete reclamation of a site before beginning mining a new parcel of land.
Authorized companies can now hold up to four enhanced surface mine leases, or up to 800 acres, at any given time. A lease no longer counts towards the active limits once a notice of reclamation has been filed.
Loewen said in a statement that silica sand exploration and extraction will create well-paying jobs for Albertans, and the changes will promote investor confidence “while still ensuring Albertans receive a fair return for the use of their public lands.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2025.