TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – NYSE-listed The Mosaic Company will idle its 2.6-million-tonne Colonsay potash mine, in Saskatchewan, for the remainder of 2016 and halt current turnaround activities, the company announced Wednesday.
"Lower global potash demand and market prices require that we curtail production. Idling Colonsay will enable us to meet our customers’ needs while reducing our production costs,” stated president and CEO Joc O’Rourke.
The Plymouth, Minnesota-based company had given about 330 employees temporary layoff notices, citing lower demand and challenging potash market conditions as being behind the strategic move.
Mosaic advised that it expected to meet its short-term potash supply needs from its lower-cost Esterhazy and Belle Plaine mines, together with current inventory.
“We continue to execute the difficult but necessary actions to ensure Mosaic will be as competitive as possible across the business cycle,” O’Rourke said.
Mosaic had cut 8%, or 46 workers, of its Colonsay workforce in October last year, as it struggled with weak demand.