Athabasca Minerals Inc. (AMI) has provided its initial test results for the Montney in-basin frac sand project (MIB project) in Canada.
STIM-LAB Inc. and Loring Laboratories Ltd. completed testing on a 70/170th fraction size domestic sand, which had sphericity of 0.7, roundness of 0.6, acid solubility of 2.3 per cent, silicon dioxide (SiO2) content of 98.5 per cent and a crush value of 8K.
These preliminary results indicate that the MIB project sand aligns with API Standard 19C, which provides the specifications for sands used in hydraulic fracturing. The Montney basin represents over 50 per cent of the entire frac sand demand in Canada.
Robert Beekhuizen, chief executive officer of Athabasca Minerals, and president of AMI Silica Inc., stated, “AMI continues to make progress toward its strategic goal of becoming the leading in-basin supplier of premium domestic frac sand for the Canadian energy market. With the growing trend in the United States of in-basin frac sand displacing Wisconsin sand, we believe an equivalent trend is on the forefront in Canada. In due course, a shift in our current dependence on 70 per cent American frac sand supplying Canadian operations is possible. AMI aims to be the pace-setter in Western Canada in providing in-basin premium domestic frac sand with efficient logistical delivery solutions that bring both value and reliability to the development and production programs of energy companies, specifically operating in the Montney and Duvernay regions.”