Canada invests in Sask. potash mine

The federal government is investing up to $100 million in the project

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

The federal government is making a multimillion investment into a potash mine in Saskatchewan.

“Our government will be partnering with BHP to build the world’s cleanest potash mine right here in rural Saskatchewan,” François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry, announced on Monday.

The federal government is investing up to $100 million into BHP’s potash mine in Jansen, Sask., to minimize the mine’s carbon footprint, improve worker safety and implement technology to further reduce emissions.

These technologies include using electric vehicles to operate the mine.

In Aug. 2021, BHP announced it would invest $12 billion into the Jansen Potash Mine.

“It’s the biggest single investment BHP has ever undertaken in its over 100-year history,” Mike Henry, CEO of BHP, said during Monday’s announcement.

Peak construction will employ 3,500 people, and about 20 per cent of the workforce will come from Indigenous communities.

BHP expects the mine to be operational by 2027 and produce between 4.3 and 4.5 million tonnes of potash annually.

This investment helps cement Canada’s place in the potash industry.

Canada is the world’s largest producer of potash, and this investment will help other partners look to Canada for supplies during difficult times.

“While Russia, a major fertilizer producer, is waging a war on Ukraine, all of our allied countries are looking for quality fertilizer from trusted partners,” Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s federal minister of agriculture, said during Monday’s announcement.