Representatives of one of the five companies already committed to mining frac sand in and around the community of Fay, Okla., told Custer County commissioners that their firm plans to be in the area where Dewey, Blaine and Custer counties come together for 35 years, so they’ll be good stewards of the land and its resources, including underground water, according to the Clinton Daily News.
Vista Proppants and Logistics LLC was represented by four spokesmen, including Chief Executive Officer Gary Humphreys and Director of Technical Services Joe Drew.
Humphreys said the company started 15 years ago as a trucking business and is now into mining sand. Its sand operation will be in western Blaine County and southeastern Dewey County, but some of the roads its trucks use will be in northeastern Custer County, hence the company’s desire to talk with commissioners there.
The firm plans to mine 200 tph of sand, or about 1 million tpy, from the Fay area. Humphreys said his company has approximately 20 trucks of its own but it also will be using outside contractors. He said it plans to employ about 70 people in the area with hourly workers paid $17 to $30 an hour and salaried ones $65,000 to $80,000 annually, with benefits.
Humphreys said Vista’s mining operation would be virtually non-stop, running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Commissioner Kurt Hamburger of Weatherford, Okla., who was just elected chairman of Custer County commissioners for the next year, said he and his fellow commissioners – Wade Anders and Lyle Miller of Clinton, Okla. – wanted to be open to economic development and “anything that adds jobs for local people is key.” However, he said they also have to be conscious of the environment and county roads.