UNDERSTANDING OMYA IN VERMONT

by Annette Smith (Executive Director of Vermonters for a Clean Environment, Inc.)

 

While some Vermonters and government officials in central and northern parts of the state have been concerned about saving the image of a mountain on the new state coin, residents of western Vermont are focusing attention on saving a real mountain.

According to OMYA, the privately-owned Swiss mining company that operates a factory in Florence, they need to open a new mine in the scenic valley of Danby Four Corners. From OMYA's point of view, the proposal makes perfect sense. It is a big deposit close to the surface and they can begin extracting it fast.

OMYA in Vermont

In 1976 OMYA built a factory in Florence, centrally located between significant deposits of marble. An existing large deposit in Middlebury is about 25 miles north of Florence and another large deposit lies in a hillside in Danby, 30 miles south of Florence. OMYA owns about a mile and a half of the Danby mountain.

OMYA also owns land in 30 Vermont towns. The marble vein in Vermont runs north to south, from Canada to Sunderland. OMYA's business depends on pure, white marble, which they grind into dust.

OMYA, Inc., a subsidiary of Pluss-Staufer Group, is the world's largest producer of ground calcium carbonate, and is the leading supplier of ground calcium carbonate to the paper industry. "OMYA has extensive production capacity consisting of approximately 140 plants located in more than 30 countries worldwide. OMYA operates the world's largest calcium carbonate production units. Typically these plants are situated in the vicinity of large user centers for optimum service." -- www.omya-na.com

A Typical OMYA Plant

OMYA (Canada) Inc. has just completed a $500-million plant expansion on its 290-acre site just west of Perth, Canada.

The factory is so large that 40-ton trucks dump indoors. It has the largest mineral grinding wheel in the world, 10 yards wide and fastened with nuts the size of a tire. It has scales that can weigh several rail cars at once, conveyor belts the length of football fields, and a tower 229 feet high. It has so much remote technology the plant can be run by three people.

The Global Marketplace

OMYA's mineral extraction and processing in Vermont is part of a $4.3 billion dollar (in 1998) global industry that produces an estimated 15 million tons of industrial minerals. Paper, paint, and plastics dominate with 93% of the market.

Ground calcium carbonate was used in very small amounts in the early 1970's, when the North American market was mainly for non-paper applications. Since the '80's, paper makers have been using more recycled paper stock and mineral fillers compared to virgin wood pulp. Over the last 20 years, calcium carbonate has obtained a very large share of the pigment consumption, primarily at the cost of kaolin.

Kaolin is known as the "white gold" of Georgia. Gradually, paper manufacturers have switched to calcium carbonate because it is cheaper to produce and more plentiful than kaolin. Kaolin has an $820 million impact on the state of Georgia and employs 4400 people.

The calcium carbonate market has quadrupled since 1992.

Two Types of Calcium Carbonate--GCC & PCC

Ground calcium carbonate (GCC) and Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) are the two forms of calcium carbonate. OMYA produces only GCC.

The paper industry is by far the largest volume outlet for extender and filler minerals accounting for more than 70% of the consumption. Cost reduction is a major reason for adding fillers to compounds. The major cost reducing filler is ground calcium carbonate.

Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) is a new filler additive that has gained popularity in alkaline paper making. Progressive paper companies are using PCC, a low cost filler, brightener, opacifier and bulking agent that helps in the reduction of wood pulp and other additives in the paper manufacturing process. PCC is expected to replace the commonly used ground calcium carbonate (GCC), as purified PCC offers some distinct quality and cost advantages.

One of the primary reasons for the phenomenal growth of PCC in recent times has been the emergence of "satellite" plants. The "satellite" plant is located next to the customer's pulp mill. Locating a PCC plant on the production site greatly helps in reducing the transportation and freight charges. It also negates the need for a slurrying system. Initial concerns were that the success of this concept depended on the availability of high quality limestone, which would have restricted the geographic range of usage mainly due to shipping costs. In 1986, one company pioneered research that modified the process to suit any grade of limestone.

PCC is fast growing to be the undisputed choice for fillers for a growing number of paper mills in North America. OMYA does not produce PCC, and has staked its future on GCC made from pure white marble.

OMYA's Future in Vermont

OMYA's corporate mentality requires the "biggest" and the "most" in order to produce the "cheapest." OMYA might be viewed as the "Wal-Mart" of the calcium carbonate business, producing "Hamburger Helper" for the filler industry. Blasting and digging a huge hole in the landscape, taking pure white marble and grinding it into a cheap material in highly automated factories -- that is OMYA's business.

Transportation is a major issue for OMYA in Vermont. If their plan is successful, they will be trucking calcium carbonate ore for 60-mile round trips both north and south of their plant for the next 50+ years. Fifty miles of Route 7 between Danby and Middlebury will be OMYA's truck route. Once the marble ore is processed, it must be shipped out. With no paper mills nearby, OMYA's Vermont products must compete with precipitated calcium carbonate made from any grade of limestone with fewer transportation costs.

Can OMYA's operations in Vermont continue to be competitive in the marketplace? If it is necessary for them to double the size of their plant and increase their capacity, is this in Vermont's best interests? Is there a point at which OMYA will be too big for this small state? Would it make more sense for OMYA to concentrate operations in areas where their mines and plants are next to each other, or where their plants are next to paper mills? Should OMYA consider expanding into the PCC market in order to minimize the need for pure white marble and make use of lesser grades of limestone?

These are questions that the people of western Vermont have a right to ask. When a company operates on the scale of OMYA in a small state with sensitive natural resources, we must consider the future benefits of OMYA's plans. Vermont is the Switzerland of the United States, and this sort of mining and transportation operation would not be well-received in OMYA's home country. Pride in the natural landscape is a cornerstone of Switzerland's image, and restrictions on diesel emissions help to keep Switzerland's air clean. It is appropriate to ask the question: will Vermont's needs and OMYA's needs be compatible in the future?

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Other VCE News:

Power Plants & Pipelines

On September 12, Vermont's Governor Howard Dean told Tom Macaulay, power plant developer, and NYSEG, pipeline company to "shut up and go away". In response, Tom Macaulay said the governor wasn't talking about the power plants, just the pipelines. NYSEG's vice president, George Bonner, would not agree with the statement "the pipeline route is dead" and said they are looking at bringing gas to Manchester and Dorset. He also said that we should not confuse NYSEG with Vermont Energy Park Holdings.

In Glenville, New York on Sept. 12, Tom Macaulay's Public Relations firm, Sawchuck Brown, attempted to defuse the normally hostile crowd at a public meeting required by New York state law by setting up tables with displays and dispensing with the usual Question & Answer format. Glenville Energy Park (GEP) also distributed a brochure that looks remarkably similar to the flier being distributed by the Citizens Advocating Responsible Development. CARD reports that the change in format worked well for building their membership and educating new attendees to the dangers of hosting Tom Macaulay's power plant on top of their aquifer and next to all their schools.

Pipeline Safety Legislation

Pipeline Safety Legislation in Congress has been watered down by industry lobbying, especially the natural gas industry. The bill that is being considered does not address the need to overhaul the Office of Pipeline Safety.

FERC

Reminder that FERC's outreach program will be holding a public meeting in Albany on Sept. 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Albany Marriott to discuss the facilitating of new pipeline siting.

Clean Air

Vermont's Committee to Ensure Clean Air meets today, Sept. 19, 2000.

Vermonters for a Clean Environment, Inc.
789 Baker Brook Road, Danby, VT 05739
(802) 446-2094 || vce@sover.net || www.vtce.org