Athabasca Minerals Inc. closed the strategic acquisition of an operational U.S. sand mine and facilities in Wisconsin. The assets include real estate of 1,100 acres, a fully functional and staffed mine and processing plant capable of 2 million tpy of sand, fixed storage, rail transload with unit-train capability (i.e. loading/unloading 100 railcar shipments), mobile equipment and active supply chain contracts.
All financing associated with the closing and operations of the plant have been arranged. The portfolio of land and facilities, originally developed at a cost of more than $100 million within the past 10 years, were procured at less than 10% the development value as per terms of the acquisition first announced Dec. 1.
Robert Beekhuizen, chief executive officer of AMI stated, “We are extremely pleased with this strategic acquisition, and we expect it to be highly accretive to AMI. It is a robust operation, which AMI Silica LLC has been operating under contract on behalf of the vendor since June 2021. We have a talented team onsite with proven experience running operations, and a premium sand product being sold and transported across North America. The acquisition also strategically engages other important dimensions of AMI’s integrated business model, including TerraShift Engineering’s mine planning and reclamation services and AMI RockChain’s logistics solutions. We regard AMI’s expansion into the United States as a new chapter in the corporation’s rebuild and renaissance over the past four years and we look forward to each of our subsidiaries playing a role in this sizable market in the future.
“We are committed to grow our business interests and customer base across North America. With that goal in mind, Dana Archibald, AMI’s chief operating officer, will be additionally appointed as president of AMI Silica Inc. in Canada, and AMI Silica LLC in the United States. Archibald has worked diligently to maintain continuity of operations and customer relations during this strategic acquisition. Under his divisional leadership, we are enthusiastic about the performance and future growth potential of AMI Silica.”