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Arthon Industries Limited
General Contracting & Aggregate Production
The Sandhill Project - Kitimat
100 Million Tonnes of Sand
Project Overview
Sandhill Materials and Arthon Industries Limited are BC Companies - Sandhill has
acquired title to the major deposit of natural aggregate materials known as Sandhill.
The companies are carrying out the following:
- Develop facilities to recover and process up to four (4) million tonnes of aggregate annually.
- Acquire additional waterfront Iands for construction of storage and terminal facilities capable of handling up to cape size vessels (120,000 metric tonnes).
- Secure committed markets for up to four (4) million metric tonnes of product annually.
- Secure financing for the project and provide senior management and related support.
Arthon News regarding Sandhill Project:
- Alcan Inc. (NYSE, TSX: AL) announced today that it has signed various agreements for a proposed new aggregate (gravel and sand) mining and export business in Kitimat with Arthon Industries Limited (Cascadia Materials Inc. is a company which was to have involvement in the project at the time of the release - June 3, 2005)
The Sandhill Resource
The resource consists of a 267 hectare parcel of land described as one
of the largest deposits of its kind in British Columbia. Consultants to
reported as follows;
Eric Beresford, P. Eng., a mining consultant, inspected the
deposit in 2002 and reported that the resource is substantial,
containing an estimated 93 million metric tonnes of in-situ
aggregates that has already supplied good quality aggregates
for concrete, asphalt and construction use for 50 years.
Roy J. van Ryswyk, M.Sc. P. Eng., a geotechnical engineer,
conducted a petrographic analysis in 2002 and concluded that
the aggregates are hard, fresh, sound, equidimensional in
shape, are not stained or coated, and have no alkali-reactive
constituents and are therefore classified as good quality.
Mr, van Ryswyk agrees with the resource size estimate of Mr.
Beresford and says the soil profile of the deposit will allow
marketability of nearly 100% of the mined resource.
Operations
The material will be processed and graded at Sandhill, then
transported by b-trains equipped with bottom dump trailers
approximately seven (7) km to the storage & terminal area. A
terminal will be constructed with 20 meters of draft capable of loading
up to cape size vessels.
The port is ice-free and currently handles approximately 200 vessels a
year.
1950's photos - Conveying product to the Alcan plant construction and trucking operations.
Market
Coastal California is a primary market for the aggregate
production. Continued population growth and stringent
environmental legislation will result in an annual shortfall of more
than 15 million tonnes (by 2005) and 45 million tonnes by 2010.
The population of California is expected to increase by one-third over
the next 20 years. Urban sprawl continues to sterilize land containing
aggregate reserves and forces producers to move inland, away from
markets. In addition, public pressure prevents the expansion of
existing operations and prevents the permitting of new operations.
Sandhill, with its aggregate source near tidewater, is ideally suited to
economically serve the target markets of San Francisco, Los Angeles,
and San Diego through established bulk terminal facilities. Marine
transportation provides a cost effective, attractive alternative to the
expensive land-based transportation increasingly necessary to service
local California aggregate markets.
California's projected population growth, the need for seismic
upgrading, replacement of infrastructure, and redevelopment of
aging city centers, assures a strong market for aggregates from outside
sources, including production from Sandhill in British Columbia.
This resource is in an ideal position to become a key replacement source
for the diminishing local supplies.
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