OmniTRAX on Aug. 14 reported signing an agreement with a second soda ash producer to provide exclusive third-party rail switching in Green River, Wyo. In addition to serving the Tata Chemical Soda Ash Partners mine, which was announced earlier this month, the transportation and infrastructure affiliate of The Broe Group will serve WE Soda’s Westvaco mining facility.
Wyoming has the world’s largest deposit of trona, a sodium carbonate compound that is processed into soda ash—found in the glass used in bottles, cars, and homes, and in insulation, light bulbs, soaps, and detergents—or bicarbonate of soda, or baking soda, according to the Wyoming Mining Association.
OmniTRAX’s new service agreement with WE Soda is long-term, and annual cargo volumes at the Westvaco mine are projected to exceed 3.5 million tons.
“WE Soda is the global market leader and a visionary company,” said Dean Piacente, Co-CEO of OmniTRAX, which operates 31 railroads, serving ports, industrial parks and customers across the country. “We are excited to partner with WE Soda and provide safe and reliable rail service that can scale with their North American mining operations. WE Soda’s Wyoming facility is a vital production hub to serve domestic and global demand for soda ash.”
“The OmniTRAX partnership supports our continued investment in North American infrastructure and logistics, reinforcing WE Soda’s commitment to deliver sustainable, low-cost soda ash to customers worldwide,” said Oguz Erkan, CEO of WE Soda, the world’s largest soda ash producer, supplying 80 countries.
Earlier this year, OmniTRAX became the exclusive operator of the Long Island, N.Y.-based Brookhaven Rail Terminal and of Port Muskogee’s Port Muskogee Railroad in Oklahoma. It also teamed with Coast Belle Rail Corporation to run Santa Maria Valley Railroad in California.
