Gulf Coast Sand acquires Shale Support assets

Gulf Coast Sand (GCS), a producer and supplier of specialized and blended sands, abrasives and gravel, acquired the assets of Shale Support.

With this move, GCS now has more than 900 mineable acres of aggregate reserves, according to the company. The acquisition also provides GCS with two fluid bed driers, 10 mineral separators and 24,000 tons of silo storage, all paired with truck and unit rail train load out capabilities.

These assets will allow the company to provide Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida with traditional construction aggregates as well as sand for specialized uses nationally within the oil and gas industry, GCS says.

The company will also custom blend and size industrial sands for distribution across the U.S. through its privately-owned fleet of trucks and rail cars.

GCS will complete its follow-on investments by the end of 2022, which include plans to update wet plant operations by streamlining equipment and transitioning to a more technical approach.

“By properly sizing our dredge and screening equipment to process all of the reserves, we will become much more efficient while, at the same time, increasing our output and yield,” says Ryan Morales, president of GCS.

Jeff Bartlam, CEO of GCS, says while Shale Support’s assets were previously used to service the energy industry almost exclusively, the company is committed to a more balanced approach.

“We will be leveraging all our reserves and state-of-the-art processing equipment to better serve both the energy industry as well as the industrial sand market,” Bartlam says. “As a result, Gulf Coast Sand will be stronger and more diversified.”