Western Potash, a subsidiary of Western Resources (TSX:WRX), seems to be finally moving ahead with its long-delayed Milestone project property in Saskatchewan, Canada, even though prices for the fertilizer ingredient remain weak.
The company, which recently held one of many open houses in the community of Kronau, located about located 28 km (17.5 miles) southeast of Regina, said that instead of shelving plans due to gloomy market conditions, it has chosen a new approach to develop the mine, which makes it feasible.
First proposed in 2009, the Milestone project will produce 146,000 tonnes of potash annually over 12 years of planned operations, which are expected to kick off in 2019.
“The advantages (of the different approach) are it uses half the water and a lot less energy,” Matthew Wood, senior vice president of projects for Western Potash, told The Leader Post.
First proposed in 2009, the Milestone project is expected to produce 146,000 tonnes of potash annually over 12 years of planned operations.
The purpose of such pilot plant, the company says, is to test and optimize the horizontal solution mining method in Saskatchewan, as well as to investigate how the method can be applied to full-scale potash production.
Western Potash expects to finish the pilot project by the end of the year or start of 2018, with operations beginning in 2019.
The miner is not the only one that doesn’t seem deterred by current potash market conditions, with prices that — while relatively stable so far this year — remain weak due to global glut of supply, declining farm incomes and weak demand from India and China.
Others are also planning to open up new mines in the near future. German K+S AG (FRA:SDF), for one, is expected to open its Legacy project in Saskatchewan, Canada, before the end of the second quarter this year, while the Garlyk mining and processing factory in Turkmenistan began operations last month, with the government opening this week a new international bid process for a second plant.
Russia’s EuroChem, in turn, is building two mines in Russia, and Sirius Minerals (LON:SXX) is moving ahead with construction of its vast mine beneath a U.K. national park. The York project is set to start producing in 2018, initially generating 10 million tonnes per year of polyhalite – a form of potash that is used in plant fertilizers –, before it enters a second phase that will double that production to 20 million tonnes a year.
4 Comments
Mississauga_Dad
Good time to invest in potash? Market may be down now but with an ever growing (pun intended) number of mouths to feed will potash not become a more and more valuable commodity over the whole world? As a total layman (but
a very interested one because of my Canadian prairie upbringing) in the areas of mining, fertilizer production, etc I know very little about these things – I am just asking.
JamesB
Potash has agreat future. There are many projects that have a great future. Yes there are some some that will never see the light of day, but many others that will.
There are some fantastic juniors out there with great projects
patentbs
There are easier ways to get rid of money. The thing about Western is the opportunity to move to a more cost effective process. Others have added efficiencies but not a new process.
BTW this may be a production plant but it is also a PILOT so do not expect a big payout. To be completely honest — I own stock in this gamble.
davieboy
Why can we not instill government ministries accountable to the point – thusly the legislature is it a permanenrntly legacy and held to Atonable transparency and of a dignified manner. Meanwhile- though, the face of these ministries may be Tony parliamentary gentleman
and ladies … in the power rooms of these cabinets are honour-driven, accountable and incapable of hobbled self-enrichment. Making tons of cash – generating extrapolated growth in every concievable factorization. Most generous and luxurious funding enriching a society so rich.
Making tons of cash and laying breath-takingly brilliance’s and genuis and beauty, and clever and brilliant, thriving, global genius and amazing and WOW and healing and restructuring the power faces and names and appropriate behaviour and the proper interaction this noble but greedy, lying, fraudulent, insincere, motivated, bottom-dollar, arrogant, divisionist, litist, racist, and violent, unatonable, immoral, cruel, divisionst, lacking honour, dignity, generousity, honesty, integrity, sincerity, moral truth, hnour, conviction, public good …
… there is so much we must tend to – we lave been seduced to many times … shiny coins and the TV all fulll of lots of commercial all clever and real shiny andContinue To Vio they created this thing – called “credit”and now the ba -:nk so genereous – they let me get to buy everything on every commercial – not sure what it is. Forgot it’s names. Kinda been looks lihat other thing. Other commercial. Bought all of them. Bought all the shiny things. All of the commercials.. Bank so nice to me. How I can buy everything. Every commercial. Don’t quite know what they don’t and their on the commercial somewhere. Bank so generous. Can buy everything, now. With my credit. So shiny. Bank let’s me buy everything now. Then pay the credit all the rest of my life. So simple. Maybe bank knos what this thing
does.y kinda look the same. Same name sure would be nice. Hopefullly, they all do the same thing. Commercials all the same. Everything was real shiny.
And
And true I to dreams and vison of Sir Wilfred Laurier – and we share tons v f mone
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inmmlnimbm. ts All so shiny. hibylly
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Alllbuo.
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