The US frac sand market could approach $6 billion by 2023. SOURCE: Black Mountain Sand A key ingredient for drilling and completion operations in shale formations, proppant – often frac sand – aids in extracting hydrocarbons from source rocks. According to a recent IHS Markit report , the U.S. frac sand market has more than tripled – from $1.3 billion in 2016 to more than $4 billion today – and should approach $6 billion by 2023. One company riding the wave of this market growth is Texas-based Black Mountain Sand, which last month unveiled plans to expand into the Mid-Continent by developing its sixth frac sand mine. The 1,290-acre Blaine County, Okla., mine, which will produce 3 million tons of frac sand annually, is slated to begin operations in January 2019. The new mine will enable Black Mountain, already an in-basin frac sand provider in the Permian and Eagle […]