The Chippewa County, Wis., board gave a nod of approval for a frac sand processing plant and rail facility, according to WQOW TV. The board unanimously approved re-zoning a piece of land in the Town of Bloomer to be used as a dry plant for White Haven Sands. The plant will be located on a nearly 100-acre parcel of land…
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This Week’s Market Buzz
At an open house on frac sand mining issues at the Howard Town Hall in Colfax, Wisc., organized by the Madison-based nonprofit group Midwest Environmental Advocates and local opponents of frac sand mining, community members spoke about the impact of mining on their lives. It is the first of three such meetings to be held in Western Wisconsin, according to…
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The CEO of CSX, Michael Ward, stated during the company’s investor conference call, “Right now, as we look out through 2015 we don’t see any significant impact at all in our crude oil by rail into the eastern markets, and certainly in our frac sand markets where we’re moving into the Utica and the Marcellus area, where the natural gas…
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Canadian National Railway Co. reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and boosted its dividend, but lagged its main Canadian rival in a key efficiency measure. CN Rail said it is aiming to increase shipments of crude oil and frac sand in 2015 despite a steep decline in the price of oil. “There’s a lot of investments that are being made by our customers…
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Despite concerns about falling demand for frac sand in light of the plunge in oil prices, state officials say they haven’t noticed any slowing of mining activity in Wisconsin, according to the Cap Times. Deb Dix of the Department of Natural Resources, the agency lead on industrial sand mining, said companies are continuing to press forward. “I have not seen…
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There’s been a lot of talk recently about how the frac sand industry will be affected by the recent drop in oil prices. But overall experts are saying frac sand miners shouldn’t be worried, there’s no evidence of a slowdown in Wisconsin, and it’ll take a lot more than a temporary drop in oil prices to change the demand for…
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Select Sands Corp. has agreed to purchase the frac sand business of CanFrac Sands Ltd. for a purchase price of $3.5 million. Canfrac Sands produces 20/40, 40/70, 16/30, and 100 mesh sand. The corporation’s quarrying operations and processing facilities are located near the city of Lloydminster in Saskatchewan, Canada.
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The Houston County, Minn., board of commissioners revealed its proposed frac sand mining ordinance establishing a number of restrictions, limitations and environmental protections. The new ordinance limits the volume of sand that can be mined per year, requires mines to comply with a road use and maintenance agreement, and gives county officials the authority to issue environmental reviews. It also…
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Smart Sand Partners (SSLP) is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Hi-Crush Partners and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), with a record-breaking IPO. Like the previous two fracking sand MLPs, SSLP produces Northern White frac sand from sand mines and a processing facility in Wisconsin. Its integrated facility has on-site rail infrastructure and wet and dry sand processing facilities,…
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The Land Stewardship Project is proclaiming that 47 frac sand companies currently operating in Wisconsin were reviewed by their organization, and environmental violations and other abuses were found to be abundant. The violations outlined in the report include sediment and wastewater spills, air quality problems, and illegal drilling and construction. Rich Budinger, president of the Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association, said…
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