Athabasca Minerals Inc. announced that its subsidiary AMI Silica LLC has entered into a multi-year Transload Agreement with CRL Transload Services Ltd. for sand transloading and storage services at its Taylor, British Columbia, Canada, location.
The CRL transload and storage facilities are strategically located within the heart of the Montney basin in northeast British Columbia. The CRL facility provides frac sand for a number of existing customers and is well positioned on the Canadian National (CN) railway, providing direct access to AMI Silica LLC’s Taylor, Wis., transload.
Chief Executive Officer Dana Archibald stated, “Our mandate since the acquisition of the Wisconsin sand mine, processing facility and transload in early 2022 is to develop sales outlets throughout Western Canada to better serve our customers increasing demand for our Northern White Sand. By managing the logistics, and partnering with CRL, we eliminate potential supply disruptions and ensure consistent supply for the growing demand in the Montney.”
Andrew Moore, president of CRL, stated, “We are excited about this strategic agreement with AMI Silica LLC and look forward to a long-term business relationship as we service the growing market in the Montney basin. CRL has a long, successful history in this region, and by combining our service offering with AMI Silica’s premium sand we see great potential for growth.”
The corporation owns a 50% interest in AMI Silica LLC. with its partner JMAC Energy Services LLC owning the other 50% interest. JMAC is controlled by Jon McCreary, director of Athabasca Minerals Inc.
Athabasca Minerals Inc. also released its financial results for the three and nine months ended Sept. 30. Athabasca Minerals reported the following key financial highlights:
• Consolidated revenue, net of royalties for the third quarter of 2022 was $11.5 million versus $4.3 million for the third quarter of 2021, driven by increased demand for industrial sand in AMI Silica LLC and a major aggregate contract in RockChain. During the third quarter of 2022, AMI Silica LLC shipped an average of 100,000 tons of sand per month.
• An operating loss of $2.1 million in the third quarter of 2022 versus an operating loss of $0.4 million in the third quarter of 2021.The increase in loss was due to increased mobilization and transload expenses of $0.3 million in AMI Silica LLC, increased depreciation expense of $1.0 million resulting from the Wisconsin assets and increased general and administrative expenses of $0.6 million due to increased personnel expenses.
• In the third quarter of 2022, the corporation reported a total comprehensive loss of $0.6 million versus a total comprehensive loss of $0.4 million the third quarter of 2021.
• For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the corporation reported total comprehensive income of $16.9 million versus a total comprehensive loss of $1.5 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2021.
• As of Aug. 24, the corporation has begun to phase out the operations of its engineering division, TerraShift Engineering, as part of the corporation’s staged plan to create a sustainable and resilient business model. This reorganization and simplification of operations also contributes to a reduction in personnel and overhead.
• AMI board of directors appointed Archibald as the corporation’s permanent chief executive officer, effective August 29.
“Since assuming operatorship of our flagship Wisconsin frac sand project and associated transload locations, we have experienced increased demand for our premium Northern White frac sand,” said Archibald. This increased demand is anticipated to resume in the first half of 2023, after the traditional seasonal slowdown in the fourth quarter of 2022. Our key objectives include identifying additional transload locations in Western Canada and the United States and securing contractual commitments for monthly frac sand volumes. We are also seeking to expand our footprint of railcars to meet this expected increased.”