Pacific Soda shares solution mine updates

Plans to bring solution mining for trona to Sweetwater County continue to move forward, with the latest updates coming from Pacific Soda's Dry Creek Trona Project.

Pacific Soda LLC is a partner with Sisecam, Ciner, and WE Soda, and is pursuing a multi-billion dollar project "to construct and operate a solution mine field and associated facilities capable of producing annual quantities of both marketable soda ash and sodium bicarbonate," according to Wesley Slaugh, the Permitting and Regulatory Affairs Specialist for the project.

Slaugh and other representatives from Pacific Soda presented information and updates on the project to the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners during their March 19 meeting. Pacific Soda also hosted an open house in Rock Springs on March 20 to share information about the project with the public.

The goal is for Pacific Soda to eventually produce six million tons per year of marketable soda ash and 440,900 tons per year of sodium bicarbonate. The mining method is done through a series of well sets consisting of one horizontal well used for injection and two vertical wells used for either injection or return, pumping water into the earth to push trona ore to the surface, where it can be processed into soda ash.

"Typically the conventional mines in this area are about 1,500 feet deep. We're going to be targeting the trona beds at about 2,200 feet deep," Slaugh explained.

The project will include a mine site location about 20 miles southwest of Green River and a processing facility location about eight miles west of Green River.

Pacific Soda's workforce projections estimate the project will have an annual average construction workforce of about 2,100 people, a peak construction workforce of 4,200 people, and a permanent operational workforce of 530 employees.

Allison Pearson from Barr Engineering has been working with Pacific Soda on the project, and gave an overview of some of the potential economic benefits, which will be both direct and indirect as the project creates jobs and brings in workers who will spend money and create demand for other services locally.

Pacific Soda estimates that $300 million will be spent on local labor during construction, and direct and secondary employment will result in about 2,000 additional jobs in the community. This also will bring an estimated $396 million in local sales from direct and secondary spending. The project will also eventually hire permanent local workers once it is operational, and is estimated to lead to $38 million spent on goods and services in Sweetwater County and have a $580 million direct economic output.

The project will also bring revenue to the county through taxes, Pearson explained. Ad valorem taxes are estimated to peak at $20 million by 2029. Sales, use and lodging taxes will be especially significant during construction, and are estimated to reach a maximum of $45.3 million in 2026 and create a total of about $99 million in the county. Production taxes on soda ash and sodium bicarbonate are estimated to be a total of $31.5 million based on current market values.

The Dry Creek Trona Project is currently working through the Industrial Siting permitting process, and the projected construction start date is in the first quarter of 2025. The construction timeline is expected to last about 49 months.

"At the end of the day, this will be the largest trona mine, solution mine, in the world," Slaugh said.

"They call us the trona capital of the world for a reason," Commission Chairman Keaton West said, adding that he is excited to see the project come to fruition. As this and other projects for the trona industry and other industries gain momentum, West noted, "Sweetwater County better saddle up."