WEDNESDAY June 2, 2021
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
$93 million mining project is proposed in Clay County
THE MATHIS REPORT
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
JACKSONVILLE
CHEMOURS MINE Chemours
Chemours Company intends to expand its mineral operations at Camp Blanding. BY MAX MARBUT ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Chemours Co. proposes construction of a $93 million mining facility on land the company leases at Camp Blanding in Clay County. Chemours has been mining at Trail Ridge east of Starke since 1949, the company website says. The raw materials are used to produce titanium dioxide. According to a May 19 memo to the Board of Clay County Commissioners from Director of Economic and Development Services Chereese Stewart, the company applied for an Economic Devel-
opment Grant and a Tangible Personal Property Capital Investments Grant. Stewart did not respond to a phone call for comment. If approved, the Economic Development Grant would be equal to 75% of the county tax paid on the improved value of the property for 10 years, followed by 50% of the tax paid for five years. The personal property capital grant would be equal to 50% of the ad valorem personal property tax on the capital investment for three years. In addition to the $93 million capital investment for a new building, machinery and equipment, Chemours anticipates creation of 50 jobs expected to exceed the average Clay County annual wage of $39,605.
According to the Chemours website, its surface mine at Trail Ridge east of Starke has been operating since 1949 and has an average depth of about 30 feet. Chemours extracts concentrated deposits of minerals including: Ilmenite: Used to produce titanium dioxide used in clothing, paper, paint, sun block, and other products. Staurolite: A hard mineral used as a blasting abrasive for surface preparation. Zircon: Used in the production of porcelain tile and china and the casting of high-performance parts for military and aerospace applications.
KAREN BRUNE MATHIS EDITOR
Florida Gateway Logistics Park already talking with prospects
Leasing broker Luke Pope says one group is interested in a 1 millionsquare-foot structure. California-based CT Realty’s 251-acre West Jacksonville industrial project has an official name – Florida Gateway Logistics Park. Leasing broker Luke Pope, managing director with JLL, said May 27 the name reflects the state’s position Pope as a gateway market to the Southeast and Jacksonville’s location within it. “Jacksonville has always been a great regional distribution market with our port and our connectivity, and this is a testament to that. It is a place people want to be,” he said. A CT Realty partnership with Diamond Realty Investments LLC intends to develop a more than $300 million, 3.2 million square-foot, eight-building industrial park at the Pritchard Road property. The site is in Westside Industrial Park. The partnership intends to
SEE MINING, PAGE 2
SEE MATHIS, PAGE 2
$34M expansion for Orange Park Medical Center Orange Park Medical Center says it will build a $34 million expansion, which will bring the hospital’s bed count to 408, the fifth-largest in Northeast Florida. Expected to be completed in 2023, the expansion will add 48 private patient rooms and 20 intensive care unit beds. It also will add a 300-space parking lot to the hospital at 2001 Kingsley Ave. in Orange Park. Patient rooms will receive upgraded clinical communication technology, 50-inch TVs and high-speed internet access. The expansion will add 80 jobs. Orange Park Medical Center completed a $126 million expansion in March.
VOLUME 108, NO. 139 • ONE SECTION