Photo by: K+S Potash Canada
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Germany's K+S Potash Canada, the world's fourth largest potash miner, has awarded a contract to supply a modern automation solution for its greenfield Legacy mine, in Saskatchewan, to power and automation technology group ABB.
The C$4.1-billion Legacy project, near Bethune, Saskatchewan, would be the first new potash mine built in Saskatchewan in nearly 40 years and was expected to produce up to two-million tonnes of crop nutrient by the end of 2017.
ABB's scope of supply includes a turnkey plant-wide 800xA solution, fully integrated automation, hardware, programming, installation, commissioning and life-cycle support.
"We are very pleased to provide K+S with this leading-edge technology that optimises mine operations, including productivity, energy efficiency and safety. The customer also recognised ABB's strong local engineering presence in Saskatchewan,” ABB VP and GM in the Canadian process automation division Gabriel Azeroual said.
ABB explained that K+S chose ABB's System 800xA because the solution embeds both automation and power into a unified control environment with one single engineering, operations and maintenance strategy, making it ideally suited for composite mining projects that integrate plant-wide process control and electrical power systems.
K+S in June held the official opening of the Legacy construction camp with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the construction camp.
The Legacy camp is located 1.5 km north-east of the Legacy project mine site and is a fully operational and functional accommodation facility offering a variety of amenities and the capacity to house 1 470 occupants by the end of this year.