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POLARIS MINERALS CORPORATION (TSX: PLS), based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is exclusively focused on supplying construction aggregates from two properties located on Vancouver Island, BC, to coastal urban markets on the western seaboard of North America. Polaris is targeting markets where accelerating local supply deficits and increasing road distribution costs enable marine transported aggregates to be competitive in the heart of major coastal urban markets.
Polaris owns 88% of Orca Sand & Gravel Ltd. which completed construction of a 6.6 million tons per year capacity (permitted) sand and gravel quarry (the Orca Quarry) on February 20, 2007. The Orca Quarry, located near Port McNeill, BC, includes a dedicated ship loading facility capable of loading vessels with a capacity of approximately 80,000 tons. A 12% participating interest is held by the 'Namgis First Nation.
The first long-term supply agreement has been secured for delivery of construction aggregates from the Orca Quarry. Deliveries to Shamrock Materials, a major San Francisco Bay ready-mix concrete producer, have begun under this agreement. Deliveries under a second long-term supply agreement are underway to a customer in the Vancouver ready-mix market. These deliveries to the Vancouver area are made utilizing barges provided by the customer.
Polaris has formed a Strategic Alliance with Cemex, US, Inc., a leading construction materials company. The agreement establishes Polaris as the exclusive supplier of marine transported aggregates to Cemex in California, Oregon and Washington. Cemex, in turn, becomes the exclusive distributor for Orca Quarry products in these markets except four counties in Northern California that fall under the Shamrock agreement. Additionally, Cemex and Polaris will partner in seeking the development of new port terminals within the three state area.
A supply agreement has also been reached with Burnco Rock Products, a ready-mix concrete producer in the lower mainland area of Vancouver. Under this 5 year agreement, Burnco takes delivery of sand and gravel into barges that it has provided and then transports the material to its off-loading facility on the Fraser River.
Polaris has entered into a ten-year shipping agreement with CSL International Inc., operator of the world's largest self-discharging shipping fleet for bulk transportation of sand and gravel from the Orca Quarry to California. The CSL Acadian, the first Panamax freighter loaded under this agreement, was dispatched for San Francisco Bay on April 1, 2007. Polaris has entered into a second shipping agreement with CSL for up to 2.8 million tons per year over a 15 year term beginning late in 2010.
Polaris also owns 70% of the proposed Eagle Rock Quarry, a very large, fully permitted, high quality granite resource located near Port Alberni, which will be developed during the second phase of the company's business plan.
In adiditon to its production properties, Polaris owns 70 percent of the associated marine aggregates storage and distribution terminal in the Port of Richmond, San Francisco Bay. The construction of the Richmond Terminal was completed late in 2007 and commercial operations began in the first quarter of 2008.
Polaris commenced business in mid-2000 and was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in January 2006 following a successful Initial Public Offering that raised gross proceeds of C$80 million. The Company had also secured a standby bridge debt facility of US$31 million at that time, which has now been repaid from proceeds of a $62.1 million financing completed in April 2007.
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