German potash miner sticks to Canadian Legacy project

German potash giant K+S Group will carry on with its expansion project in Canada despite Russian rival Uralkali’s decision to leave an export cartel that triggered fears of a collapse in potash prices.

The firm, the world’s fourth-largest potash miner, said Tuesday its Legacy mine in Saskatchewan is on track and that the company “will not call this important venture into question in response to mere speculation.”

“There is no substitute for potash and it is urgently needed for sustainable and efficient farming,” CEO Norbert Steiner added in the statement.

Last month Ulrich Lamp, president and CEO of K+S Potash Canada, a unit of the European fertilizer firm, announced the company had reached an important deal with Canadian Pacific Railway (TSX: CP) to ship potash from Legacy to domestic Canadian and US markets.

The Legacy mine, currently under construction, is expected to start production by the end of 2016, ramping up to two million tonnes per year in 2017 and reaching full capacity of 2.86 million tonnes by 2023.

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