Two developments target rail-served frac sand operations in Wisconsin

Victory Nickel Inc.'s Victory Silica Ltd. subsidiary has commissioned its Seven Persons frac sand plant near Medicine Hat, Alberta.

The 500,000 ton-annual-capacity plant is the first of Victory Silica's three-phased plan to import frac sand from Wisconsin and sell various grades of sand in Canada. The second phase calls for building a frac sand wet plant in Wisconsin to ensure a sand supply, and the third phase involves the construction of a larger plant to process and distribute both imported and domestic sand.

Late last year, Victory Nickel contracted Canadian Pacific to move sand from Wisconsin to the Seven Persons plant for finishing.

Although the commissioning process took slightly longer than expected because of damage and delays caused by severe winter weather, Victory Silica now is an established frac sand supplier and sales should continue to ramp up throughout the remainder of the year, said Victory Nickel Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rene Galipeau in a press release.

Meanwhile, Hi-Crush Partners L.P. has amended a supply agreement with Weatherford U.S. L.P. that increases the annual committed volumes of certain frac sand grades.

Hi-Crush owns frac sand reserves in Wisconsin that are served by CN and Union Pacific Railroad.