British Columbia has issued an environmental assessment certificate for Vitreo Minerals’ $300 million Angus silica sand mine north of Prince George, clearing the way for a 20‑year operation producing up to 2 million tonnes of proppant annually. The Environmental Assessment Office found no significant adverse effects with mitigation, and requires the project to be substantially started by 2036. Construction is expected to create about 150 jobs and operations nearly 140, with formal participation from Lheidli T’enneh, McLeod Lake, Tsay Keh Dene and West Moberly First Nations in the assessment process.

Almonty Industries has extended its offtake agreement with Global Tungsten & Powders for concentrate from the Sangdong mine in South Korea from 15 to 21 years, lifting total contracted volume by 40% from 3,150,000 to 4,410,000 metric tonne units and locking in a 6.3% price uplift per MTU. The deal secures minimum deliveries of 210,000 MTU per year after ramp-up, covering about 90% of Phase I mine output and supplying GTP’s US facilities. With Chinese export curbs driving record tungsten prices, the contract provides long-duration, conflict-free feedstock into Western defence and industrial powder supply chains.

BQE Water and Centerra Gold have begun preparations to restart the selenium treatment plant at the Kemess copper-gold project in northern British Columbia, originally built and briefly operated in 2020 to manage mine-impacted water. The plant is designed to remove selenium from contact water before discharge, using BQE’s specialised process technology to meet stringent provincial water quality limits. Restarting the facility signals advancing project development and will be central to permitting and long-term water management planning for any future underground or open pit operations.