Northern Industrial Sands, (a subsidiary of Northern Capital Partners, LLC) hired Barr to conduct a resource assessment and obtain a reclamation permit to mine on a greenfield site. The resource assessment included drilling and sampling to determine the quantity and quality of sand available as well as the volume of overburden needed to be removed to economically mine the deposit. Barr used the software Vulcan to demonstrate the quantity and mine phasing that would recover the silica sand most efficiently. Concurrently, Barr collected the physical, biological, hydrological, and land-use data required for the reclamation permit after a public hearing attended by Barr staff representing the client.
After the resource assessment, Barr helped the client develop a set of engineering documents that were sent out for bids to build the plant facilities and devise a strategy to secure an air permit to build and operate a separate dry plant at an off-site facility.
Barr prepared and submitted an application for the construction waiver, which was granted, and, after verifying that the facility’s annual production goal of 1.8 million tons of dry sand would keep it under the major-source threshold, we also prepared and submitted an application for a synthetic minor-source operating permit, which was also granted. Our engineers and scientists also supported the client while it negotiated permit conditions with the state regulatory agency and responded to questions during the public-notice meeting.