PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Diversified major BHP has marked a major milestone at its Jansen potash mine, in Canada, completing the excavation and lining of the two 1 000 m-deep shafts at the mine, the largest of their kind in Saskatchewan.
“It’s a big step towards bringing online the project which is planned to be the largest potash-producing mine in the world, providing a rich source of potassium to keep soils fertile and maximise food production,” BHP said in a statement.
The shafts are one of the most technically risky parts of developing the greenfield project and their completion will significantly reduce the development risk, the miner said.
For future stages, the same two shafts enable options for multiple sequenced brownfield expansions of more than 16-million-tonne-a-year production, subject to business and regulatory approval.
“The team’s safety record and performance since January 2020 has exceeded our plan,” said BHP potash president Simon Thomas.
“Our approach to safety, work planning, discipline and continuous improvement – along with our collaborative and integrated team approach – really shone in the final stages of this project.”
The $5.7-billion Jansen project is slated for initial production by the end of the 2026 calendar year, and will produce 4.35-million tonnes a year of potash during the Stage 1 operation.