Overview
The Blair Mine processing facility transforms raw sandstone into high-quality frac sand through a comprehensive wet and dry processing circuit. Located on the Blair Property, the operation produces multiple sand grades suitable for hydraulic fracturing applications, with separate crushing/wet-processing and dry-processing plants connected by a slurry line.
Key Process Stages
- Crushing: ROM sandstone is reduced to manageable sizes using a jaw crusher and vibratory feeder while preserving grain integrity
- Wet Processing: Material is separated by size, shape, and density through Diester scalping screens, McLanahan density separators, and Liberator attrition cells to produce 8/50 and 20/70 WIP material
- Slurry Transport: WIP material is pumped to dry-processing facilities via the Blair Facility Slurry Line (BFSL)
- Dry Processing: Material undergoes final drying (Starkeaire fluid bed dryer) and sorting (four Rotex screeners) to produce 20/40, 30/50, 40/70 and 100 mesh products
Critical Data
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Wet Plant Capacity | 350 short tons/hour (320 metric tonnes) |
| Dry Plant Capacity | 200 short tons/hour |
| ROM Stockpile | 70,000 short tons |
| WIP Stockpile | 400,000 short tons |
| Historical Production (2017-2024) | 6.32 million short tons (5.74 million metric tonnes) |
| 2024 Production | 1.04 million short tons (0.94 million metric tonnes) |
| Workforce | 60 employees during operation |
Plant Configuration
The crushing/wet-processing plant operates seasonally (March-November) on the west side of U.S. Highway 53, while the year-round dry-processing plant is located east of the highway adjacent to rail infrastructure. Quality control is maintained through laboratory sampling at multiple process stages.
Based on filing data from 2024-2025.
