TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Germany's K+S Potash Canada (KSPC) on Tuesday said its $4.1-billion Legacy potash project, in Saskatchewan, was on track to start commissioning activities by the end of August, with the aim of producing the first tonne of potash before year end.
KSPC broke ground on the project – the first new potash mine in the province – in June 2012. About 90% of the capital budget had already been spent.
More than 100 employees had moved into permanent jobs in the new operations and administration buildings on site, and the company said external utilities were all up and running, ready to fully service production.
According to KSPC, the Legacy project was presently the largest job creator in Saskatchewan, currently providing 4 500 construction jobs.
Once in production, the mine was expected to produce two-million tonnes of potash a year, ramping up to 2.86-million tonnes in subsequent years.
The potash market had, in recent quarters, been under significant pressure as lower demand and weaker prices had placed major operations at risk. Emerging market currency weakness relative to the US dollar had also weighed on the fertiliser market.
Meanwhile, significant potash projects were in the pipeline in Saskatchewan, including BHP Billiton’s $2.6-billion Jansen project.