A controversial sand quarry proposed for the undulating pink dunes outside Kanab will not get developed, according to an announcement the mine proponents released Thursday.
Citing unspecified findings of its “due diligence activities” and “other feasibility assessments,” Southern Red Sands said it will not pursue the venture that it expected would produce up to 700,000 tons of sand to be used in fracking operations a few hundred miles away in Uinta Basin oil and gas fields.
The company, backed by Salt Lake City-based developer Kem C. Gardner, issued the statement jointly with Best Friends Animal Society, Kane County’s largest private employer and a leading opponent of the mine proposal.