Orca Sand and Gravel Terminal

Port McNeill, BC · Private · Indigenous-affiliated · Polaris Materials Corporation · Queen Charlotte Strait / Broughton Strait (Pacific coast, northern Vancouver Island, near Port McNeill)

The Orca Sand and Gravel Terminal is a private aggregate quarry and dedicated marine load-out facility near Port McNeill on northern Vancouver Island, operating since 2007. It produces large and small gravel (25 mm and 12.5 mm) and coarse concrete sand, with plant capacity exceeding 6 million tonnes annually; four product stockpiles hold up to ~600,000 tons fed by a computer-controlled conveyor reclaim system that loads ships at up to 5,000 tons per hour, handling vessels up to ~70,000 tonnes plus barges. Aggregate is shipped via the Pacific tidal waters to the U.S. west coast (California), Hawaii, and coastal British Columbia (Vancouver), supplied under long-term agreements to concrete producers, with U.S. distribution through Polaris's Eagle Rock Aggregates terminals in Richmond and Long Beach, California. The operation is owned by Polaris Materials Corporation (a subsidiary of Vulcan Materials Company) with a minority interest held by the 'Namgis First Nation.