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United States
Ottawa Mine

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 Location:
1 km W from Ottawa, Illinois, United States

  Regional Office:
701 Boyce Memorial Drive
Ottawa
Illinois, United States
61350
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WebsiteWeb
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Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Silica
  • Frac Sand
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
  • Hydraulic mining
Production Start...
Mine Life2047
U.S. Silica's Ottawa plant is North America's largest silica production facility, mining fine grain, nearly pure quartz sandstone.


Owners

Source: p. 30
CompanyInterestOwnership
USS Holdings, Inc. 100 % Indirect
U. S. Silica Company (operator) 100 % Direct

Contractors

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Deposit Type

  • Sandstone hosted


Summary:

The Ottawa Operation’s target silica bearing formation is the St. Peter Sandstone, which is a massive formation in areal extent and thickness. Aerially, it extends from Minnesota to Arkansas and from Illinois into Nebraska and South Dakota. On a regional basis, the St. Peter Sandstone ranges in thickness from a few feet to over 1,200 ft, with a general thickness of 100 ft to 200 ft. In northern Illinois, the thickness can be over 300 ft thick. The St. Peter Sandstone is the only strata of economic interest at the Ottawa Operation, and is very uniform in depositional nature and continuity throughout much of the surrounding region. BOYD considers the subject silica sand deposit to be of low geologic complexity. Furthermore, the geology of the St. Peter Sandstone is well understood after a lengthy history of commercial operations at Ottawa. Within the defined resource boundaries, the St. Peter Sandstone exhibits: (1) low depth of cover, (2) lateral continuity, (3) a minimum thickness of 70 ft, (4) gentle dipping, and (5) minimal faulting. The two members of the St. Peter Sandstone—the coarser-grained upper Starved Rock and finer-grained lower Tonti members— are easily identifiable and separable during mining and can be blended as required to meet product specifications. Deleterious materials such as iron (which manifests as orange staining) are easily removed during mining and processing. The sandstone unit is covered by a thin layer of overburden that is generally less th ........


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
  • Hydraulic mining


Summary:

Surface silica sand mining has been conducted at the Ottawa Operation for over 100 years. Recent and current mining operations are located in the South Ottawa Pit, on the south bank of the Illinois River. In and around the Ottawa Operation, the St. Peter Sandstone generally exhibits a shallow depth, flat altitude, and consistent thickness. These characteristics favor conventional surface mining techniques. Since the target sandstone formation does not extend below the water table, the quarry is ‘dry-mined’ using truck and shovel mining methods. Mining occurs in a stair-like fashion to recover sand from the top of the formation (in elevation) down to the lowest practical elevation (generally 5 ft from the bottom of the St. Peter Sandstone). The thin overburden, including topsoil, cap rock and vegetation, is cleared and transported to several mined-out areas in pit where it is stockpiled for future reclamation needs. The material is poorly consolidated and thus drilling and blasting is typically not needed for this stage of the mining operations. Overburden removal is performed, as required (usually one year in advance of sand mining), by third party contractors and does not appear to hinder sand mining to any appreciable degree. Once the overburden has been stripped, the poorly cemented sandstone is drilled and blasted in a series of benches between 40 to 75 ft high. Drilling and blasting are performed by local third-party contractors several times a year depending on pr ........


Crushing and Grinding
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Processing

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Summary:

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Production:
Ottawa's mine recovery rate is 95% and process recovery rate is 86.5%, resulting in an overall product yield of 82.2%.

CommodityUnits2023202220212020
Silica k tons  ......  Subscription required ^  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
^ Guidance / Forecast.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics202320222021202020192018
Ore tonnes mined  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required1,953 k tons of rom frac sand3,720 k tons of rom frac sand4,093 k tons of rom frac sand
Annual production capacity  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Annual mining capacity  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
^ Guidance / Forecast.
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Reserves at December 31, 2022:
Ottawa, IL economic evaluation based on $42.37/product ton; equal to 2022 ASP. No price escalation used.

CategoryTonnage CommodityRecoverable Metal
Proven k tons Silica 89,742 k tons
Probable k tons Silica 1,486 k tons
Proven & Probable k tons Silica 91,228 k tons
Measured 94,466 k tons Silica
Indicated 1,564 k tons Silica
Inferred 88 k tons Silica

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnits2023202220212020
Cash costs (sold) Silica USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
^ Guidance / Forecast.
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Financials:

Units2023202220212020
Capital expenditures (planned) M USD  ......  Subscription required
Capital expenditures M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Revenue M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Book Value M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
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Water Supply
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Heavy Mobile Equipment as of December 31, 2022:
HME TypeModelQuantity
Dozer ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Dozer (crawler) ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Excavator ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Loader ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Loader ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Truck (haul) ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required
Truck (water) ....................... Subscription required
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Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 26, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 26, 2023
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Staff:

EmployeesYear
Subscription required 2022
Subscription required 2021
Subscription required 2020
Subscription required 2019
Subscription required 2018
Subscription required 2017

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
Form 10-K 2022
Technical Report 2022
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2021
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2020
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
Annual Report 2017
Other 2014
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