CANADIAN SILICA INDUSTRIES REOPENS PEACE RIVER SAND PLANT
CALGARY, ALBERTA – October 17, 2008
Canadian Silica Industries (“CSI”), a new supplier of silica products located in Western Canada, is pleased to confirm that it is now in full production at its sand plant in Peace River, Alberta. The plant, which was custom-designed and purpose-built in 1997, had been decommissioned for many years. CSI has completed a series of extensive upgrades and modifications to customize the plant to attain its initial design capacity of half a million tonnes per year to support the Company’s long-term strategic goals.
“While our silica can be marketed into numerous products, the North American energy industry is by far our largest targeted customer,” said Scott LaPrairie, President and Chief Executive Officer of LaPrairie Group of Companies, which owns CSI. “We believe it was critical to establish the infrastructures required to meet the ever growing demand for well-graded silica sand required by the industry,” continued LaPrairie. “Canadian Silica Industries is now well positioned to do so.”
Located in Peace River, Alberta, the plant is a short ten hour delivery from the Horn River Basin in Northeast British Columbia. This strategic location makes it ideally situated for service companies performing fracture stimulations at a formation many believe has the potential to be one of the larger shale gas accumulations in North America.
“CSI’s 100-mesh was recently successfully pumped in 16 facture stimulations in three horizontal wells in the Williston Basin and our client, a key stakeholder in the region, was very pleased with the outcome. We are delighted to report that due to the market’s positive response to our new company, we are already contracted to provide up to an additional 65 wells,” concluded LaPrairie.
Canadian Silica Industries is a member of the LaPrairie Group of Companies and holds extensive mining and operational permits in North-central Alberta. The key deposit is located approximately 10km north of the town of Peace River. The mine and processing plant has current annual production capacity of 500,000 tonnes of silica sand.
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