Vancouver-based Westshore Terminals expects to start constructing infrastructure required to handle potash from the 4.35-million-tonne-a-year Jansen mine, in Saskatchewan, next year, the port operator said on Tuesday.
This comes as diversified major BHP approved Stage 1 of the project, satisfying conditions precedent to the agreement that Westshore and the mining company entered last month.
Westshore said that it would design and construct the necessary infrastructure, including a potash dumper, storage building and associated conveying systems. In addition, certain existing infrastructure would be modified to support handling potash.
Westshore must obtain certain permits for the construction and said that it expected to have those in hand in the first half of 2022, at which point construction would start.
Potash infrastructure must be available by mid-2026, the operator noted.
BHP would substantially fund the construction, with Westshore being responsible for construction costs in excess of the agreed budget. Westshore would also contribute up to an aggregate $33-million in costs related to specific infrastructure or unexpected permitting conditions.
Potash would be loaded at the terminal’s Berth 2, which would continue to be available for loading coal.