Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. unveiled a $1.67-billion plan Friday for a two-million-tonne mine and expanded operations in New Brunswick.
The four-year construction project is expected to generate the equivalent of 2,500 person-years of work and create 140 full-time jobs when it is completed by 2011.
Potash Corp.'s New Brunswick facility (Potash Corp.)
Potash said expansion in New Brunswick is important because the company already has operations in the province — including a mine about eight kilometres east of Sussex.
The company said the new mine will be close to its terminal at the port of Saint John, which will help reduce shipping times to markets in Latin America, such as Brazil.
"Our goal is to be the lowest-cost supplier on a delivered basis to all key world markets," said Potash president and CEO Bill Doyle.
Potash also said that because the new mine will be built adjacent to its existing N.B. property and use some of its facility, construction will be completed at a cheaper cost and in less than the five to seven years that are usually required for new "greenfield" potash mines.
The project still requires regulatory approval, the firm said.
For a town that's had its share of uncertainty, the mid March sod-turning ceremony signaled good times ahead for Sussex, New Brunswick (pop. 4,200).
"This is tremendously important for us," Sussex Mayor Ralph Carr says of PotashCorp's $1.66 billion new mine and expanded milling operations. "It's like a big wave that's going out and touching everybody."
Carr says the new project will add 150 more full-time positions, provide an immediate stimulus to the economy, have a positive effect on health and education, and build confidence that will draw new people and businesses to the community.
"It's just phenomenal," says Carr.
The Picadilly Mine Project, which will generate 2,500 person years of employment during its four-year construction phase, is expected to increase PotashCorp's annual production capacity near the strategically and logistically important Port of Saint John.
"The port offers the shortest shipping times to key Latin American markets such as Brazil, where substantial long-term growth in demand for upgraded potash is expected," says PotashCorp Public Relations Manager Rhonda Speiss.
Speiss says she is pleased to hear of Carr's enthusiasm.
"Improving the quality of life in the places where we do business is important to PotashCorp," says Speiss. "It's very satisfying when a project like Picadilly can generate so much excitement in a community."
The new mine will draw upon PotashCorp's large Picadilly deposit, which is a relatively flat deposit that contains two potash seams varying in thickness up to 60 feet. Picadilly features high-quality ore grades similar to those found in the company's Saskatchewan mines.
