PotashCorp's Allan facility has an annual capacity of 1.9 million metric tonnes of KCl (Potassium Chloride). Mining takes place 1,040 meters (3,400 feet) below ground and the underground workings stretch some 10 kilometers north, 5 kilometers west and 5 kilometers east from the shafts.

The Allan mine uses stress-relief mining techniques developed specifically for the site. This provides a stable and safe work environment while allowing the efficient extraction of ore. The mine uses six two-rotor continuous mining machines. Each machine can cut a 3.3 meter by 5.5 meter profile (11 feet by 18 feet wide) and can produce 500 metric tonnes per hour. Once mined, the ore passes directly from the mining machine onto a mobile conveyor system which transfers the ore to the main conveyor system, where it is transported to underground storage bins and then hoisted to the surface for processing.

In the mill the ore is crushed to free the KCl, then scrubbed to remove the clay. After conditioning with reagents, the ore enters the flotation process where the KCl is skimmed off the top of the flotation cells. The KCl is then de-brined, dried, screened and graded with the finished products transferred to surface warehouses for storage prior to loading in rail cars.

In 2005, PotashCorp began work on a capital project to bring idle capacity back into production. Part of this project includes an expansion of the compaction plant, which permits more product-mix flexibility for standard and granular fertilizer products. Some of the standard product can also be re-dissolved and crystallized to yield a soluble fertilizer product or an industrial product (WSM 0.2) which is produced as required by market conditions.

PotashCorp’s Allan facility employs approximately 336.

Transportation:
Rail – Most of the Allan facility’s potash is shipped by rail via Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways to centers throughout North America for domestic sales or to ports for delivery offshore.

Waterways – The Allan facility’s potash that is destined for offshore markets is exported by Canpotex, the export company owned by all Saskatchewan potash producers, from the West Coast and the Great Lakes.

Uses:
The Allan facility produces Standard, Granular and Soluble products for fertilizer use, and industrial grade potash for industrial use – such as the manufacture of computer screens.

Markets:
About half of Canada’s potash production goes offshore. In China, where farmers grow two or three crops a year, rice is the largest consumer. In Brazil, most is used on soybean, sugar cane and corn. In Malaysia, oil palm is the largest consumer of potash.

In the US, corn is the major consumer of potash.