Did You Know? The Largest Conveyor Belt in America is in Texas

What if I were to tell you that there was a 40-mile conveyer belt who's sole purpose is to move huge amounts of sand from one location to another? Preposterous? Balderdash, perhaps? Well, thanks to a major energy company operating in Texas, this is what is currently going down in our little slice of heaven.

Who is Atlas Energy Solutions?

According to a release from the major energy company, Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. has recently, within the past few weeks, completed the very first commercial delivery of sand along the 43-mile conveyer system.

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Believe it or not, but this is the second largest conveyor belt in the world. It's also the largest in America, so, you know, pretty big deal.

The company stated that this successful delivery began at their location in Kermit, TX, and was transported across state lines to New Mexico via conveyer belt.

Chron chimed in by reporting that the conveyer belt from Atlas Energy can move up to 13 million tons on a yearly basis from their home base in Kermit, TX.

Why Deliver via Conveyer Belt?

Atlas Energy CEO John Turner stated, shortly after the first successful delivery, that the purpose of a delivery system comprised of conveyer belts is to eliminate heavy trucks and equipment on public roads.

The massive shipment of sand was required for fracking purposes. This was due to the fact that--surprise surprise--West Texas and New Mexico are hubs for crude oil production. Funny enough, this type of sand used in fracking is called "frac sand".

What is 'frac sand'?

Frac sand is mixed into water that will be shot into the ground to break up rocks during hydraulic fracking. Still keeping up? Great. I hope you're taking notes, this will all be on the test later.

This was all a part of the $400 million project called the "Dune Express" that moves frac sand to fracking sights across West Texas and New Mexico. The conveyer system moves at about 10 mph and the sand is covered during travel by an aluminum sheet, according to Chron.

So, we'll see how future deliveries shape the structure of construction/landscape modifications in Texas. And who knows, maybe we'll see fast food conveyer belt delivery systems soon... one can dream.