Preferred Sands has acquired substantially all the assets of Winn Bay Sand, including mining locations in Blair, Wisconsin and Hanson Lake, Saskatchewan, for an excess of $200 million. Preferred is now the largest frac sand producer in Canada and one of the top three in the U.S.Blair, WI, is 60 miles south of Chippewa Falls, WI. Chippewa Falls is 620 miles east of Williston, ND, the heart of the Bakken.
The acquisition will benefit Preferred Sands’ customers by allowing the company to increase its current capacity. Both the Blair and Hanson Lake locations are in close proximity to existing Preferred Sands operations. The access to rail in both locations will streamline and shorten the length of time for transport.
Hanson Lake, SASK, is 450 miles directly north of Williston.
As noted earlier, if the folks in Chippewa Falls don't appreciate their resource, the Williston Basin companies will simply look elsewhere (in this case, north to Canada). This is not rocket science (rail transportation is better east to west, but truck traffic north to south is just fine).
(I think Canada can ship sand across the border without State Department approval. Just saying.)
Absolute, import silica sand from Saskatchewan and Manitoba, they have the resource and are eager to satisfy the demand because they understand the advantage that comes with economic development. Forget trying to deal with the anti-growth phoney environmentalist in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The stupidity there rages like a unchecked virus. All it does is waste time and raises cost.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I have to credit one of my readers, "anonymous," with alerting me to that story.
DeleteI certainly get a lot of good links sent to me by readers. Much appreciated.
With regard to quarrying for fracking sand. One has to laugh at the faux-environmentalists for getting upset with quarrying. Quarrying must be the second oldest profession on earth. The Romans were famous for quarrying to build their roads. And before that, the Druids put up those huge rocks at Stonehenge (England). I wonder if the faux-environmentalists understand that cement roads (common in Iowa; I don't know about Minnesota, Wisconsin) require lots of gravel. And, of course, all the gravel roads in Minnesota and Wisconsin require .... well, gravel.
This reminds me of the stories back in the 60's or the 70's when it appeared that New Yorkers did not know where milk came from, having never seen a cow or a farm. Fortunately for Chik-Filet, most folks have seen cows, though mostly coming down in football stadiums under parachutes, but that's another story.