U.S. Silica said 15 November 2004 that mining of glass sand at its Millville, New Jersey facility will cease on 31 March 2005, with the loss of some 24 jobs, although the facility will not be complete…
U.S. Silica said 15 November 2004 that mining of glass sand at its Millville, New Jersey facility will cease on 31 March 2005, with the loss of some 24 jobs, although the facility will not be completely shut down. Customers of the plant include Glass Group Inc. in Millville and Kimble Glass in Vineland, New Jersey. U.S. Silica said it is announcing the decision now to allow buyers time to source new suppliers. “The current deposit lends itself to a quality concrete and mason sand, which we will continue to supply to our aggregate customer, as well as supplying our other processing plant at Mauricetown,” said Operations Vice President Bob Carland. Carland said the coarseness of the sand being mined, coupled with the cost of natural gas and electricity, have made processing unprofitable for several years. “The tradition of U.S. Silica processing glass sand in South Jersey is a long one that, unfortunately, cannot continue,” Chief Executive Officer John Ulizio said. “The employees are to be commended for the efforts to keep the Millville Glass sand operations open.” The U.S. Geological Survey tracks sand and aggregate mining. For 2003, New Jersey was the seventh leading producer. Thomas P. Dolley, who deals with sand and aggregate production for USGS, said the U.S. Silica decision has neglible impact on production. “It“s a pretty mature industry in this country,” Dolley said. “It“s dominated by 10, 20 companies.” U.S. Silica is a subsidiary of Better Materials & Aggregates Co. of Berkeley, West Virginia.