September 26, 2008

INLAND AGGREGATES

Inland Aggregates recently started operations at its new fully automated, state-of-the-art aggregate facility at Pine Ridge reserve, within the Birds Hill deposit in Manitoba.

Automation

Manitoba aggregate plant estimates 30-year supply

State-of-the-art plant opens in Manitoba

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

WINNIPEG, MB

A Winnipeg aggregate supplier has made a significant investment in a new automated plant that will serve the local construction market and support economic growth.

Inland Aggregates Limited announced recently it has started operations at its new state-of-the-art aggregate facility at Pine Ridge reserve, within the Birds Hill deposit in Manitoba.

PCL began construction of the plant in June 2007 and it was completed in August 2008.

“Our core strategy is to supply the Winnipeg market,” said Mike Smith, manager, Inland Aggregates, Manitoba.

“We are the largest aggregate supplier in the city of Winnipeg and we supply all the course (stone) and fine (sand) for the production of concrete. We have a supply agreement with Building Products, which is one of the largest manufacturers of ready mix concrete in Winnipeg.”

Inland Aggregates invested $22.8 million in the production facility and $4.4 million for the dredge, which are strategically located 26 kilometres from Winnipeg to minimize transportation impacts.

“The location of the plant is central to our sustainability,” said Smith. “This is the largest granular reserve close to the city of Winnipeg in the Birds Hill area. This huge source is a glacial deposit, which was formed by retreating glaciers. Pine Ridge is positioned in the centre of all the extraction activity at Birds Hill.”

INLAND AGGREGATES

Inland Aggregates invested $22.8 million in the production facility and $4.4 million for the dredge, which are strategically located 26 km from Winnipeg to minimize transportation impacts.

The facility features crushing, a washing plant with a 1,100 tonne per hour feed rate capacity, screening facilities, a new 16-cubic-yard capacity clamshell dredge and central dispatch.

The plant operates by a one-touch production process, which means raw materials go directly from the extraction pit to the process plant without the use of loaders.

According to Smith, plant capacity has doubled due to the elimination of loader feeding. It took 14 people to run the old plant, while the new plant requires only six people.

Displaced workers will be reassigned to operations previously contracted out.

“What gives us the competitive advantage is that we have a fully-automated plant, which will be the lowest cost producer of quality aggregates in the marketplace,” explained Smith.

The new plant will also allow Inland to expand its product line to include asphalt fines and other value-added fine sand products.

“We are also getting back into the asphalt aggregate market as well,” he said. “The previous plant was undersized, so we had to exit the market. Now, we can re-enter the market.”

Pine Ridge will replace Inland’s CN pit, which will be retired at the end of 2008.

The province’s Aggregate Pit and Quarry Rehabilitation Program will manage land reclamation.

The new $27-million facility is positioned to supply the construction market for more than 30 years.

“The market has been very robust for the last four years, even though there may be a slight decline this year,” said Smith. “We will continue to run at a good clip for some time to come. The timing of the plant opening is well suited to respond to the need to improve and rebuild infrastructure, such as sewers, roads, failing bridges.”

Inland Aggregates is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lehigh Cement Limited, the Canadian arm of Lehigh Hanson in North America. Lehigh Hanson is owned by Heidelberg Cement, which operates in more than 40 countries on five continents.

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