Carla Devlin Cites Sio Silica’s 15-Billion-Tonne Deposit for Defense Technologies While Encouraging Support for Public Petition

On the third day of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto, Carla Devlin, President of Sio Silica Corp., said the company is awaiting an environmental license in Manitoba that would allow the project to move forward.

“Currently, we have our application in with the EAB (Environmental Approvals Branch) in Manitoba, and we’re looking to be successful within the next month or two with an environmental license,” Devlin said in an interview with InvestorNews.com host Tracy Hughes at PDAC 2026. “Once we receive that, we’ll be getting into the ground and drilling.”

Sio Silica Corp. is a Manitoba resource development company focused on the responsible development of high-purity silica while prioritizing environmental protection, innovation, and transparent monitoring practices.

Devlin said the company’s silica resource is distinguished by its purity. “We have very high-purity silica that comes out of the ground at 99.86%,” she said. “With a simple magnetic water wash, we reach 99.9%. Through research, development, and beneficiation, we’ve been able to achieve a 5N product—99.999% purity—which allows us to enter the semiconductor, microchip, and advanced manufacturing world.”

She said the deposit is also unusually large. “Currently, we are considered one of the highest-purity silica deposits in the world, and we have a 15-billion-tonne deposit,” Devlin said. “That translates into roughly a 500-year mine life.”

Devlin said the project could support long-term industrial development in North America. “That allows us to generate generational wealth and attract advanced manufacturing to North America and Canada,” she said. “It also helps protect our sovereignty by enabling participation in the national defense sector.”

She said the company is currently fully funded for development once approvals are received. “Yes, we’re somewhat of an anomaly,” Devlin said. “We’re fully funded and ready to build the mine as soon as we receive environmental approval.”

Devlin also said government engagement remains an important part of advancing critical mineral projects. “That’s one of the key reasons to come to PDAC—you get access to government representatives,” she said. “We’ve been actively having conversations with both federal and provincial governments.”

She added that more collaboration between governments and project proponents would improve project development. “Capital can be a coward, and it can leave if the environment is uncertain,” Devlin said. “So securing capital means governments need to collaborate with proponents and build an ecosystem of support.”

Devlin also pointed to the everyday presence of critical minerals in modern life. “When you look more closely, you realize we use critical minerals every day,” she said. “For example, silica is often the last ingredient listed on a rotisserie chicken from Costco—it’s used as an anti-caking agent.”

She said critical minerals are also essential to advanced manufacturing. “Canada doesn’t have a large manufacturing base, so we need to use our critical minerals to attract it,” Devlin said. “That means solar panel production, microchips, semiconductors—value-added industries.”

High-purity quartz silica also has national security applications. “National defense is a major factor,” Devlin said. “High-purity quartz silica is a key ingredient in many defense technologies.”

Sio Silica recently announced a research partnership with the University of Manitoba’s Department of Chemistry to investigate a mechanochemical single-step synthesis of silicon battery materials derived from silica. According to the university’s Dr. Christian Kuss, the process could produce lithium-ion battery anode materials with “6 to 10 times greater capacity than the current gold standard: graphite.” Devlin said the company has also launched a public petition in support of the project. “We actually have a petition on our website that was launched recently,” she said. “We encourage people to sign it to support Sio Silica and help bring advanced manufacturing to Canada.”

To sign Sio Silica’s public petition – click here