Rocanville
Box 460, Rocanville, SK S0A 3L0 | (306) 645-2870
Stephen J. Fortney, General Manager | E-mail Stephen
Operations
Rocanville is a conventional underground potash mine, operating at a depth of 960 meters. It produces granular and standard product for agricultural use and standard industrial product. Annual capacity is 3.0 million tonnes KCl.
Significant Achievements
A major expansion was announced in 2007, increasing potash capacity by 2.0 million tonnes by the end of 2012 at a cost of $1.80 billion.
The site set a production record of 2,647,408 tonnes in 2007.
Environmental Initiatives
In order to ensure adequate brine and flood storage, Rocanville completed Phase 1 construction of the Zone X brine pond in 2007.
Tails piles stability monitoring was improved by installing additional instrumentation.
The site commissioned the design for raising the Zone VII dykes to increase the fine tailings pond capacity.
Circuit I dryer stack emissions were reduced by installing a baghouse in parallel with the electrostatic precipitator.
Community Relations
A number of meetings were held with provincial regulatory agencies to discuss environmental issues relating to the tailings and safety issues.
On October 25, 2007, Rocanville division hosted a "Good Neighbors Day." Landowners within a five-mile radius, as well as local rural municipality and town officials, were in attendance. A total of 61 neighbors were given a presentation and a tour of the surface and underground.
Community Contributions
Cash donations to local community organizations in 2007 totaled $64,075. The main recipients were Rocanville Skating Rink, Rocanville Aquatic Centre, Rocanville Fire Department Off-Road Rescue Unit, Rocanville Town & Country Golf Club and the Rocanville Playground Committee.
Four scholarships were awarded to help students pay for their academic studies: two were corporate scholarships and two were divisional scholarships.
Local Procurement
The value of goods, materials and services purchased locally in 2007 (excluding raw materials, transportation and energy) was $26.0 million. This represents 52 percent of total procurement.
Performance Trends |
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| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
Annual Production (tonnes KCl) |
1,989,352 | 1,833,787 | 2,573,308 | 1,897,128 | 2,647,000 |
Employment |
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| # of employees | 324 | 328 | 340 | 343 | 354 |
| # of female employees | 19 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
| Gender ratio (% female/total employees) | 5.8 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 7.3 |
| Average tenure (years) | 18.7 | 17.1 | 17.4 | 15.2 | 14.8 |
| Absenteeism rate (% hours absent) | 3.8 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.5 | 5.2 |
| Employee training provided (hrs per employee) | 84 | 92 | 32 | 72 | 78 |
Safety Performance |
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| Lost-time frequency (per 200,000 hrs) | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 |
| Recordable frequency (per 200,000 hrs) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 6.0 |
Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
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| GHG emissions (000 tonnes) | 69.3 | 61.8 | 75.9 | 58.7 | 71.6 |
| Normalized GHGs (GHGs/tonne production) | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
NPRI Air Pollutants (tonnes) |
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| Nitrogen oxides | 57.4 | 52.5 | 57.6 | 49.3 | 61.0 |
| Carbon monoxide | 491.2 | 172.4 | 222.2 | 63.5 | 83.0 |
| Particulates (dust) | 261.9 | 305.6 | 465.0 | 425.0 | 449.0 |
| Volatile organic compounds | 5.77 | 4.42 | 7.2 | 5.2 | 7.0 |
Waste to Land (000 tonnes) |
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| Waste salt to storage | 3,230 | 2,543 | 3,986 | 2,799 | 3,910 |
| Salt in brine injection well | 549 | 694 | 665 | 642 | 786 |
Water Use (000 m3) |
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| Water withdrawn | 1,037 | 1,000 | 1,161 | 1,058 | 1,109 |
Environmental Expenditures ($ 000) |
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| Operating expenditures | 5,455 | 7,265 | 7,359 | 6,508 | 8,996 |
| Capital expenditures | 146 | 389 | 489 | 3,823 | 11,145 |
Energy |
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| Energy costs ($ million) | 16.8 | 19.1 | 23.9 | 17.3 | 22.6 |
| Energy use (TJ) | 2,023 | 1,863 | 2,364 | 1,871 | 2,239 |
| Energy efficiency (GJ/tonne production) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
Procurement |
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| Local purchasing ($ million) | 10.0 | 53.8 | 40.5 | 20.3 | 26.0 |
| Source: PotashCorp | |||||