Questions about silica mining/leasing

Hi all, I have some questions about silica mining that I was hoping someone could get me some help on.

CHIDA supply professional and honest service.

My family owns some pretty good producing silica claims in Nevada, very high quality sand. For several decades we&#;ve been leasing the claims to a large mining company and I&#;m getting the feeling we&#;re being shafted (no pun intended). I&#;m not sure some of the older members of the family made the best decisions on lease agreements. The claims are currently about 30-40% of a large put mine that is made up of several claims owned by the company leasing ours.

Which brings me to my questions.

I&#;ve been told (and I don&#;t know how accurate it is) that the large company owns all the water right in the area. If true I assume that makes it impossible for us to mine it ourselves or lease to someone else? Are there options there? How hard is any of that? I assume setting up a mine is expensive and complicated and probably requires water?

Second question. What is a typical market rate for royalties on something like this. Right now we&#;re getting 2.5% of each ton of sand sold that they mine from our claims&#; assuming they get to that part of the mine during the year. They mine millions of dollars worth of sand out of there and we see very little of it. Is that a decent rate or am I correct that we&#;re getting screwed?

Thanks

Frequently Asked Questions About Silica Sand

Blasting companies that take the time to research their media options can safeguard worker health. Here are additional considerations when contemplating the safety of silica sand for sandblasting:

If you want to learn more, please visit our website High Purity Silica Sand.

Is Silica Sand Safe for Humans?

Silica sand shatters during the blasting process, resulting in fine or respirable crystalline silica dust that is proven to be unsafe for humans to inhale. As these particles are approximately 100 times smaller than a regular grain of sand, unprotected workers can easily breathe them in without even noticing.

As silica sand is bio-persistent, it remains in the lungs and typically leads to respiratory tract diseases and other long term detrimental health impacts. Put simply; it is bad to inhale silica sand or any form of crystalline silica.

How Much Exposure to Crystalline Silica Is Dangerous?

Continuous exposure to crystalline silica can lead to different health complications depending on the amount of crystalline silica someone is exposed to and how long they are exposed. For example, these dosages can contribute to multiple medical issues and even death:

• Less than 1 mg/m3: Research on granite workers in the United States reveals that dosages of this amount doubled the death rate from silicosis.
• Approximately 0.2 mg/m3: Further research in pottery factories links this dosage with 20% more cases of silicosis.  
• Roughly 0.2 mg/m3: Similarly, experts link these dosages with higher rates of lung cancer.

Researchers have found that there is likely no safe dose of exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust and that repeated exposures over several years lead to serious health problems. Case in point: No amount of crystalline silica inhalation exposure is known to be safe. 

Is Silica Sand a Carcinogen?

Both the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the National Toxicology Program consider silica dust to be a carcinogen. Carcinogenic substances are those proven to cause cancer through human and animal testing.

Crystalline silica is specifically associated with lung cancer. People are at greater risk if they face exposure over many years or are exposed to high-concentration doses, like those in an abrasive blasting environment using silica sand.

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