Is Argentine frac sand API 19C certified?

Key Facts

• API RP 19C: American Petroleum Institute recommended practice for measuring proppant properties.
• ISO 13503-2: International Organization for Standardization equivalent, widely referenced in Argentine procurement.
• Tests covered: sphericity, roundness, crush resistance (K-value), turbidity, acid solubility, grain size distribution, bulk density.
• Mesh sizes: most common frac meshes are 40/70 and 100-mesh for unconventional shale.
• In-Basin Sand: certified API 19C / ISO 13503-2, validated by SGS Minerals (Chile).
• Deposit size: 6 million tons indicated, 60+ million tons inferred, 37-year mine life at 15,000 t/month.
• Plant specs: CDE Global (Ireland) budget for 200 TPH wash plant, US$6.8M total CAPEX validated.

Detailed Explanation

API RP 19C (first published 2008, aligned with ISO 13503-2) is the industry-standard protocol for qualifying proppant — the granular material pumped into fracture networks to hold them open after pressure release. A proppant sample passes or fails on measured metrics: minimum sphericity and roundness (0.6 Krumbein), crush resistance at defined stress (typically 4,000 psi for 40/70 mesh), maximum turbidity (<250 NTU), maximum acid solubility (<2.0% for 40/70).

Certification is not a one-time event: it is deposit-specific and often lot-specific. A mine may hold API 19C qualification for one seam and not another. Serious Vaca Muerta operators (Chevron, YPF, Vista, Tecpetrol, Shell, Pan American) run their own acceptance tests on incoming lots and reject sand that drifts outside spec — this is routine and expected.

In-Basin Sand's Malargüe deposit has been qualified against API 19C / ISO 13503-2 with an independent SGS Minerals (Chile) report on attrition and granulometry specifically for hydraulic fracturing service. This technical bar — combined with the <30 km distance to the North Zone — is what makes the asset commercially relevant, and what allowed the 2023 Chevron take-or-pay proposal (10,000 t/month) to exist in the first place.

Comparative Context

Sources & Evidence

API RP 19C (American Petroleum Institute, 2008) and ISO 13503-2 (ISO, 2006, with subsequent amendments) are the governing documents. SGS Minerals is the international standard for independent mineral testing. In-Basin Sand's validation report is shared with qualified investors under NDA.

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