Dakota Plains Holdings Inc. (OTC BB: DAKP) has begun its frack sand transloading operations at the Pioneer Terminal in New Town, N.D., through its new sand transloading joint venture.

As announced in August 2013, Wayzata, Minn-based Dakota Plains and New Canaan, Conn.-based Unimin Corp., the world’s leading producer of quartz proppant, executed an agreement to construct a frack sand automated terminal with 8,000 tons of storage and a throughput capacity of 750,000 tons per year. The terminal is fully operational and will start-up this week.

Dakota Plains’ sand joint venture has entered into an agreement with Rail Link Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (NYSE: GWR), under which Rail Link will operate and maintain the company’s frack sand transloading facility.

Chairman and CEO of Dakota Plains, Craig McKenzie, said, “We are pleased to commence our frack sand transloading operations at Unimin’s newly built, state-of-the-art facility at the Pioneer Terminal. This new operation will make Pioneer a major supplier of frack sand in the Williston Basin and is expected to generate about $2 million in earnings per year.”

Richard Grant, director of Marketing of Rail Link, said, “On behalf of Rail Link, we look forward to working with the talented team at Dakota Plains to expand operations based on increased frack sand demand, and further develop an inbound oilfield products business at the Pioneer Terminal.”