An in depth look at frac sand mining, processing, & shipping in Wisconsin, USA. We'll visit Fort Worth, Texas based Superior Silica Sands. See their 450 acre Auburn Mine in Chippewa County, Wisconsin which was established in 2010. Visit the Wet plant and see the washing process. Finally we move on to their dry plant which was the first facility in the Chippewa Valley to begin processing & shipping frac sand on September, 30th 2011.


You might be wondering what is frac sand?

Frac sand is a naturally occurring crystalline silica (quartz) sand that is processed from high-purity sandstone. In its make-up, frac sand differs only slightly from other types of sand, as grains of quartz silica are a major constituent of most inter-coastal sands. The difference is that other sand is a mixture of several minerals and rocks types, which are less durable than pure quartz sand.

What Is the Role of Frac Sand?

Frac sand gets its name from its use in hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), a method used by oil and natural gas companies to produce natural gas, natural gas liquids, and oil from unconventional, low permeability reservoirs such as shale. It is often referred to as a "proppant" because of its role in holding open fractures in the shale or rock deep within the wells.

Two of the most important qualities of quartz frac sand include a high crush resistance and a very round granular shape. This ensures that the proppant will hold up as long as possible against the enormous pressures deep within the ground and also maximizes the efficiency of the well.

In this program we'll focus on a specific variety of sand found in Wisconsin known as "Northern White Sand". Its ideal properties make it the finest in the world when it comes to frac sand.

The life of a sand mine in Wisconsin can be broken down into four steps:
1) Applying for and securing all necessary mining permits including regulatory compliance with strict water and air quality standards.
2) Removal and stockpiling of top and sub soils from the mine site commonly referred to as "overburden''.
3) Blasting and mining of the usable sandstone.
4) Once an area is mined out reclamation begins by replacing the sub and top soils to create a useable and productive landscape which is then turned back over to the land owner.

You can visit this site for a great breakdown on the whole process. https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/wisconsin-geol...


Here are some key points you may enjoy from this program
1:06 Overview of Superior Silica Sands Auburn Mine
2:42 Removal of overburden to the stockpile area
4:01 Drilling crew preparing for blasting
4:23 CAT 374B excavator w 10 yard bucket filling mine trucks
6:11 CAT 740B articulated mine truck
7:45 CAT 980H front end loader
8:20 Feeding the impactor
9:22 Creating a slurry and pumping to the wet plant
9:44 Wet plant
9:53 Hydro sizer - separate the sand grains
10:09 The scrubber - remove dirt, clay, shale & silt
10:26 Settling tank and belt press - reject materials settle and are separated from the water. Reject material sent to stockpile for reclamation. Water is recycled for use again.
10:54 Clean water rinse
11:13 De-watering screens
12:02 Stockpiling the washed sand
12:42 Loading dump trucks
14:32 Weighing and recording the loads
14:49 SSS New Auburn, WI dry plant overview
16:09 Dump truck arrives at the "barn"
17:17 Mike King organizing the barn with his CAT 966K
18:17 Loading the dry plant feed hopper
19:06 The dryer - reduces the sand to 0% humidity
19:24 The baghouse - 784 filter bags to trap dusty air from the dryer
20:06 Bucket elevator for a trip upstairs to the screen deck
20:26 The screen deck with Rotex sand screening & sizing machines
21:02 The different mesh sizes - 16/30, 20/40, 30/50, 40/70 & 100 mesh
21:25 The control room overview with Jim Turner and Duane Wilke
24:38 Quality control - Ro-Tap testing and recording
25:04 Routing and conveyor to the 5 storage silos
25:33 Rail car load out overview
27:36 Wisconsin Northern Railroad bringing empty cars for the SSS plant
28:35 Trans-load car spotting and operation (truck to rail loading)
29:41 Conclusion and loaded train departing Superior Silica Sands


You can get your copy of the full length 105 minute program here:
Vimeo On Demand: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/fracsandmi...
Blu-ray or DVD: https://www.pletsexpress.com/fnimall/...

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