According to the Houston County News, The Minnesota Court of Appeals on July 20 reversed a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources decision that a Houston silica sand mine may not operate until the owners obtain a trout stream setback permit. The court determined that the Erickson Sand Mine is not a “new project,” so the mine can legally operate, according…
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This Week’s Market Buzz
Proxibid was selected by Hilco Industrial and Gordon Brothers Group as one of the groups to offer live online bidding for its upcoming auction of machinery and equipment used for the production and distribution of premium grade frac sand. The auction will take place July 28 at 10:00 a.m. CST in Saskatoon, SK, Canada, with live online bidding taking place…
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Six-year-low crude oil prices may have decimated new drilling activity, but market indicators show there is a more intense use of frac sand in the new wells that remain in the Eagle Ford and other shale plays. A June 11 report from global investment bank Jefferies shows that overall demand for frac sand is down in 2015 due to low…
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According to the investment website Seeking Alpha, long term, the market dynamics for frac sand are still in place. The amount of frac sand per well seems to be increasing for now based on the fact drillers are using more stages per well. As prices fall drillers are incentivized to increase the amount of frac sand they use per well…
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According to the Winona Post, Arcadia, Wis.’s moratorium on nonmetallic sand mine operations will remain in place. Arcadia City Council members decided to not take any action to prematurely lift the city’s moratorium on sand mining operations that was implemented last year and is expected to expire September 15, 2015.
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According to madison.com, 30 workers at U.S. Silica’s Sparta, Wis., plant will be laid off July 15, when the plant cuts back production because of the trickle-down effect of the lagging oil market, a company spokesman said. “We will operate the plant with a smaller workforce because we’ve seen a significant decrease in oil drilling, which has reduced demand for…
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According to the LaCrosse Tribune, the Minnesota appeals court panel heard arguments from a sand mine owner protesting a Department of Natural Resources ruling that the mine cannot operate without a special permit because of its proximity to a trout stream. Asking that the state’s ruling be reversed, an attorney for mine owners Tracie and Michelle Erickson of Rushford, Minn.,…
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A Texas based frac sand mining company is backing out of plans to develop a 1,600 acre mine and processing plant in Trempealeau County, Wis. Over the last year, Superior Silica Sands has been in the process of developing a plant between the cities of Independence and Arcadia. As part of the project, Independence annexed the property, but controversy about…
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Superior Silica Sands (SSS) announced that it will no longer pursue the construction of a silica sand processing facility in Independence, Wis. “This was a difficult but necessary decision,” said Rick Shearer, chief executive officer of parent company Emerge Energy and SSS. “Given current economic conditions affecting the frac sand industry as a whole, as well as the specific mining…
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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is inviting the public to provide input on the agency’s most recent effort to assess the latest scientific, natural resource and socio-economic information relating to industrial sand mining and its infrastructure. “The department is conducting a strategic analysis on industrial sand mining in order to provide quality, factual information to the public and decision makers,”…
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