Sustainability
Sustainable, Environmentally Conscious Resource Mining
Health, Safety, and the Environment
We Have a Responsibility To Preserve the Environment With Everything We Do
Frac sand mining is a complex, dynamic process, and at Pontotoc, we make it a priority to use low-impact mining practices to reduce our impact on the environment. This starts with the mine itself and extends to the groundwater, the surrounding countryside, and all roads leading to our mine sites.
Our team goes above and beyond federal and state guidelines to conduct our operations well within expected parameters. Through these sustainable mining practices, we provide our clients with peace of mind knowing their resources come from green, sustainable processes.
- Our mine recycles 98% of the water used in our operations.
- We reserve material for later land reclamation.
- We have an environmental plan for everything we do.
At Pontotoc, Our Advantage Is Responsibility
We source our materials using the latest mining technology, and we keep our operations safe using the latest best practices. We never stop improving our operations, and we always look for new ways to innovate through enhanced safety procedures, better technology, and proven industry procedures.
Frac Sand Mining and Water
One of the major resources we use at Pontotoc mines is water. While the oil drilling industry has been booming, ancillary industries like frac sand mining have been experiencing a renaissance. Because of increased demand, traditional sand mining methods needed to be made more efficient and environmentally friendly. While sand is plentiful where we mine, water is scarce, and it’s an important resource in sand mining.
Our water management program began with a third-party engineering study. The study helped us understand the groundwater supply around our mine. With this study, we designed a mine system that allowed us to run our operations with a focus on sustainable processes and a sensitivity for local and regional groundwater sources.
We optimize the use of every drop of groundwater. By recycling more, we use less and our mine deploys a closed water wash loop to wash and sort our sand. Instead of routing the turbid water to settling ponds, we send used water to a settling tank, which separates material from water into mud. This mud is then squeezed and processed to reclaim as much moisture as possible to filter out solids before being pumped into holding tanks to be used again.
Our sand drying methods are another important process for recovering water. Instead of open piles of sand, our sand is sent to a specially-designed decant building where water drains from the sand as it waits to be sent to the dryers. Dryer sand requires less drying so less energy is expended during the entire process.
Pontotoc reclaims almost every drop of water used in our operations. None of the water we use is ever dumped into the surrounding environment, and we pride ourselves on how little we impact the surrounding environment.
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