Polaris Minerals named British Columbia’s fourth fastest-growing company
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Despite the negative effect of the economic downturn on quarry operator Polaris Minerals, the company has been named BC’s fourth fastest-growing company, by The Vancouver Sun.
The company began operating in 2007 by looking for a source of good quality gravel in a location that meant the material could be shipped to the end-user, avoiding road transport. Where an average aggregate truck can carry 25 t, the company’s ship carries 80 000 t, providing significant transport savings. In addition, studies have shown that sand and gravel can be shipped about 1000 miles by freighter for the same cost as moving it 25 miles by truck.
The company settled on the Orca Quarry near Port McNeill and a second, not-yet-exploited pit near Port Alberni, both on Vancouver Island. The Namgis First Nation owns 12% of the Orca Quarry and Polaris owns the rest.
Polaris had customers in California who were very short of material and were offering to sign 20-year supply agreements. Today, the company also ships sand and gravel to customers in Hawaii and Vancouver.
The Orca Quarry is permitted to produce 6.6 million tpa of sand and gravel, making it one of the largest quarries in Canada. In 2008, Polaris shipped 2.3 million t, double that of 2007. However, at the end of 2008 and in the first few months of 2009, the company began to feel the effects of the economic recession and resulting decline in demand for concrete in North America. This has made 2009 a challenging year for the company.
In order to survive, Polaris has cut back production and has been forced to lay-off some staff. The company is depending on an increase in demand in 2010. The material from the Orca Quarry makes some of the hardest, strongest concrete available on the coast, ideal for earthquake-prone California. The company’s sand and gravel has already been used in the seismic upgrading of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Pablo Dam.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/17112009/polaris_minerals_named_british_columbia%E2%80%99s_fourth_fastest_growing_company/
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