Quarry construction begins

With all the talk of permitting problems, it's nice to hear about new quarries under construction. Polaris Minerals Corporation is reporting that construction has begun at its Orca Quarry project on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Development of the Orca Quarry began in early March 2006 with land clearing and site preparation for the construction of ship load-out conveyors and a sand and gravel processing plant. Construction of a ship berth will commence on April 3, 2006, when piling operations begin under a contract with Vancouver Pile Driving Ltd. To date, contracts of approximately $42.7 million have been executed for the supply and installation of the sand and gravel processing plant, the ship loader, and various ancillary equipment supplies. The processing plant is being provided under a turn-key contract with Metso Minerals. Mobile equipment has been ordered from Finning (Canada). It is expected that construction of the Orca Quarry will be completed, and that production will have commenced by the end of 2006. The first shipment of sand and gravel to northern California is expected in the first quarter of 2007. The quarry is expected to help alleviate future aggregates shortages in California. Your comment?