Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. completed the US$3 billion expansion of its Rocanville potash operation in Canada's Saskatchewan, the company said Oct. 12.
The company has increased the nameplate capacity of the mine to 6.5 million tonnes, from 3 million tonnes pre-expansion, and has doubled the Rocanville workforce to more than 750 personnel. According to PotashCorp, Rocanville is now the largest potash mine in the world.
The expansion included a new mine shaft at Scissors Creek, a new mill, a 500,000-tonne storage facility, new rail and rail loadout equipment, and the conversion of the existing service shaft to a second production shaft for bringing ore out of the mine.
The capacity of the newly built mill stands at 1,300 tonnes per hour, and the combined capacity of both mills is 2,400 tonnes per hour.
The Rocanville mine expansion was announced in November 2007.
PotashCorp expects strong potash demand through the rest of 2017 and estimates shipments between 62 million tonnes and 65 million tonnes, potentially setting an all-time high for annual shipments.