INTEGRATED SOLAR SPEC SAND SUPPLY

• Wholly owned quarry
• Inferred Resource* of 7.25 million tonnes of solar glass specification high purity, low-iron sand (100ppm Fe2O3)
• 23 to 26 million tonnes* of target exploration area for future development
• Ample supply for typical glass facility life-span Solar glass manufacturing facility
• Site serviced by transport and energy infrastructure
• Natural gas sourced from competitive western Canadian market 
• Electricity supply is 99% renewable
• Recycled water available
• Access to Winnipeg logistics hub for low-cost transport

What we do

Our premium sustainable glass products

Our facility will have the capability to produce premium solar glass or architectural glass. Rolled solar glass is made by melting raw materials, primarily consisting of high-purity silica sand, and drawing the molten glass flat with patterned rollers. These rollers imprint a permanent prismatic pattern into the glass to improve light transmissivity for a more efficient solar panel. Final determination of our product portfolio is expected in Q4 2021.

A new industry-leading facility

Our facility will use the latest technology and sustainable practices, including waste heat recovery, recycled water for cooling, and over 96% renewable hydroelectricity from Manitoba Hydro’s power grid. And, our furnace will use some of the most responsibly-produced natural gas in the world, sourced from Western Canada. These factors, along with the facility’s close proximity to our silica resource, create significant cost advantages over our competitors.

Quality in, quality out

We are using high-purity silica sand from our wholly-owned quarry, located 160 kilometers north of Winnipeg. This resource is the primary raw material used to manufacture solar glass and there are only a handful of deposits in North America that suit this purpose — none in close proximity to low-cost renewable energy. Low iron content in silica sand is essential to produce premium solar glass as it improves clarity and allows greater light transmissivity. The quality of our silica has been validated by third-party laboratories.