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POTASHCORP CONTINUES EXPANSION PLANS
POTASH PRODUCTION at ROCANVILLE INCREASE by TWO MILLION TONNES
Fertilizer markets are tight, as demand for crop nutrients is growing around the world. There's no quick solution, but PotashCorp is getting ready for the future by expanding its potash mines.
Most recently, the company announced it would spend US $1.8 billion to expand its mine and mill in Rocanville, Saskatchewan, boosting capacity by 2 million tonnes. Announced in November, the project is expected to be complete in less than five years.
Together with expansion projects announced earlier, the Rocanville expansion is expected to increase PotashCorp annual potash capacity to 15.7 million tonnes by the end of 2012. That's three years earlier than previously announced.
"Rocanville was an expansion possibility for a number of years, but with global demand forecasts, we saw how fast the world was turning, and we acted quickly to advance the start date of the project," said Clark Bailey, PotashCorp Vice President. "We are a nimble company, and I believe our hands are firmly positioned on the controls."
The Rocanville facility is one of the lowest-cost potash production facilities in the world. It is an extremely valuable asset for PotashCorp, with a high-quality potash deposit and a location in southeastern Saskatchewan that's close to the US market. The area's geology allows the company to use the world's most technically advanced potash mining methods, lowering production costs.
PotashCorp will expand its mining operations into an area of the deposit that's adjacent to the existing Rocanville potash Crown lease.
One new service shaft – used to transport people and materials – will be sunk in this area, while the existing service shaft will be converted to a production shaft. When the project is completed, Rocanville will have two shafts with ore-hoisting capability, substantially raising the volume of potash that can be brought to the surface.
A new underground conveyance system will transport ore from the new mining area to the production shafts. This will keep down the cost of the expansion project and make it possible to finish in a fairly short time, since only one new shaft is needed. Existing underground operations will handle some of the new mining, along with new mining machines, underground services and power infrastructure.
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