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Potash/Phosphate

Workers ‘blindsided’ by layoffs at Mosaic’s Colonsay potash mine – by Alex MacPherson (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – July 13, 2016)

http://thestarphoenix.com/

Workers at Mosaic Co.’s Colonsay potash mine were “totally blindsided” as they arrived for a shift change and were escorted to boardrooms by private security to be told they were out of a job, a staff representative says.

About 330 workers at the mine 60 kilometres east of Saskatoon received layoff notices on Wednesday. They’ve been told they’re out of a job until Jan. 3, said Mike Pulak, staff representative for United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7656.

“One of our members asked a question, what was the reason, and the reason given was that they have no sales, no international sales, which in our opinion is false,” Pulak said. “Mosaic is part of the Canpotex (international marketing) group with Agrium and (Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan), and if there was no sales, that would mean everybody would be shut down.”

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UPDATE 1-Israel Chemicals sells potash to India at decade-low price -sources – by Rajendra Jadhav and Tova Cohen (Reuters U.S. – July 1, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

Israel Chemicals (ICL) will ship potash to India at the same decade-low price agreed by another big seller last month, two industry sources said, at a time when global supply of the crop nutrient is exceeding demand.

ICL’s decision could pressure other key producers such as Russia’s Uralkali and North American trading group Canpotex Ltd, owned by Potash Corp of Saskatchewan , Mosaic Co and Agrium Inc, to consider offering potash at similar prices.

Indian Potash Ltd (IPL), one of that country’s biggest fertiliser importers, is buying around 600,000 tonnes of potash at $227 per tonne on a cost and freight (CFR) basis with a credit period of 180 days, said the industry sources, who declined to be named.

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University of Saskatoon opens mine reclamation research facility – by Betty Ann Adam (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – July 7, 2016)

http://thestarphoenix.com/

The metres-thick layers of minerals, soil and vegetation used to cover tailings and waste rock at decommissioned mines need to prevent hazardous materials from leaching to surface water for centuries into the future.

A new research testing facility unveiled Thursday at the University of Saskatchewan’s Global Institute for Water Security will be used to better understand how those “cover systems” respond to weather and other natural elements like tree roots, burrowing animals and insects, said Jeffrey McDonnell, head of the Global Institute for Water Security’s Mine Overlay Site Testing (MOST) facility.

Until now, the only way for a mining company to know how to isolate waste was to use computer modelling to design a layered system based on predictions of how a particular site would respond to the environment and then build an actual test site at the mine and monitor it for five or 10 years. Mine closure is one of the largest costs of the mining enterprise, McDonnell said.

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BHP said to be after Potash Corp again – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – July 2, 2016)

http://www.mining.com/

Shares in Potash Corp. (TSX, NYSE:POT), the world’s second-largest producer of the fertilizer, soared as much as 6.6% in Toronto on Thursday to $22.18, closing at $21, on fresh rumours that BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) had made an unsolicited takeover offer for the Canadian miner.

According to The Fly website, the word among traders was that the Saskatchewan-based miner had hired an investment bank to analyze the proposal.

In 2010 the Canadian government’s rejected BHP’s $40 billion hostile takeover bid for Potash Corp. saying the offer failed to meet the criteria of providing a net benefit to the country. Analysts believed at the time the move would deter any potential suitors from approaching the company in the future.

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BHP Billiton says Jansen project still alive despite comments from MLA – by D.C. Fraser and Alex MacPherson (Regina Leader-Post/Saskatoon StarPhoenix – June 28, 2016)

http://leaderpost.com/

A government backbench MLA hinted earlier this month that BHP Billiton Canada Inc. would abandon its multi-billion-dollar Jansen potash mine if it doesn’t get further approval to proceed with construction. However, the global mining giant and the government minister responsible for the file said that isn’t case.

Glen Hart, MLA for Last Mountain-Touchwood, told a group of citizens fighting a separate proposed potash mine that BHP employees in Saskatoon told the government that the massive Jansen mine was “at a stage now where if the board of directors doesn’t authorize any more expenditure on this project, they’re going to walk way.”

Hart’s comments were recorded, though it’s unclear if the MLA knew he was being taped. The MLA claims the quote was taken out of context and he was trying to describe his understanding of the process for how potash mine is built. According to a spokeswoman for the premier’s office, Hart in no way meant to sound as if the mine would not proceed.

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India expects potash miners to offer decade-low price after Belarus deal – by Rajendra Jadhav (Reuters India – June 28, 2016)

http://in.reuters.com/

MUMBAI – Leading global potash producers, including Russia’s Uralkali, are likely to supply the crop nutrient to India at the same price Belarus agreed, a key Indian negotiator with overseas suppliers told Reuters.

Belarus on Monday agreed to sell 700,000 tonnes of potash to Indian Potash Limited (IPL) at $227 per tonne, the lowest price in a decade. “Uralkali has very good relations with Indian buyers. We are hopeful that it will agree to $227,” said P.S. Gahlaut, managing director of IPL, the country’s biggest importer.

The contract price with Belarus is too low, and Uralkali, the world’s biggest potash producer, is not yet ready to sign a potash supply contract with India, said a company spokesman. “We cannot offer a higher price to any supplier. If they insist, then we can postpone purchases,” Gahlaut said.

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Potash Corp. shares surge on possibility of market thaw – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – June 24, 2016)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Shares of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. are surging on speculation the company’s rivals in Belarus and Russia may once again team up – a development that could potentially mark an end to potash’s long swoon.

Prices for the crop nutrient have plunged since the heady days of 2010, when BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest miner, attempted to acquire Potash Corp. during the frenzy of the commodity supercycle.

One key factor in the protracted slide was the split-up in 2013 of the marketing alliance between state-owned Belaruskali of Belarus and Uralkali of Russia, which had previously helped to support global prices for potash.

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Finish line in sight for province’s first new potash mine in 40 years – by Bruce Johnstone (Regina Leader-Post – June 22, 2016)

http://leaderpost.com/

More than 300 First Nations and Metis are working with contractors on
site and more than $300 million in contracts have been awarded to
companies owned or partnered with aboriginal enterprises.

NEAR BETHUNE – If building a potash mine was like a horse race, K+S’s Legacy project would be entering the home stretch. The $4.1-billion solution potash mine remains on time and on budget to begin production at the end of this year and full commercial production of two million tonnes per year by late 2017.

“We will produce the first tonnes of potash at the end of this year,” K+S Canada Potash president and CEO Ulrich Lamp told reporters Tuesday. “Then we will produce one million tonnes in 2017 and achieve our capacity of two million tonnes per year by the end of next year.’’

For Lamp, the project is the culmination of a long journey that began on a prairie field and a tent in 2012 when K+S first broke ground at the Legacy mine site, about 70 km northwest of Regina.

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UPDATE 1-Belarus may revive potash cooperation with Uralkali (Reuters U.K. – June 23, 2016)

http://uk.reuters.com/

MINSK/MUMBAI – Belarus is considering cooperating with Russian potash producer Uralkali, it said on Thursday, the first sign the two sides might work together again since Uralkali broke off a potash alliance in 2013, triggering a fall in global prices.

Uralkali is the world’s biggest producer of potash, a widely used nutrient for crops, while state-controlled Belaruskali is the second largest.

“New Uralkali shareholders are coming to me every month saying: ‘accept us’. We are not against it – let’s unite, on our conditions,” Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said at an event in Minsk.

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[Saskatchewan] K+S Legacy unveiled (Moose Jaw Times Herald – June 21, 2016)

http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/

The K+S Potash Canada Legacy Project was officially unveiled on Tuesday. Located roughly 60 kilometers northeast of Moose Jaw, construction crews are now in the completion stages of the largest construction project currently underway in Saskatchewan.

With the strategy of solution mining and using water sourced from Lake Diefenbaker, the Legacy mine will produce mainly potash and salt, as well as fertilizer. The salt and potash will be sourced from 1,500-1,600 metres underground.

The construction phase, which began in 2013, employed 1,475 people from all over Canada. Once the first phase of production begins in the next few months, there will be about 350 local employees working on site, with another 100 or so working from headquarters in Saskatoon and Vancouver.

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Exclusive: Mosaic eyeing Vale’s fertilizer unit – sources – by TATIANA BAUTZER AND GUILLERMO PARRA-BERNAL (Reuters U.S. – June 17, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

SAO PAULO – Mosaic Co, the world’s top producer of concentrated phosphate, has entered talks to buy Vale SA’s fertilizer unit, in a renewed push to grow in South America and Africa, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Although both companies are discussing what structure would best suit their interests, the first source said a cash-and-stock deal remains the favorite option at this point.

The same source, who requested anonymity because talks are under way, said the value of Vale’s fertilizer assets could reach $3 billion. Mosaic and Vale are also discussing other alternatives for the deal, the other two sources said, without elaborating.

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Exclusive: Canada’s Saskatchewan may scrap potash royalty review – minister – by Rod Nickel (Reuters U.S. – June 16, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

Saskatchewan is considering whether to end a review of its potash royalty system, the economy minister of the Canadian province said, as producers of the crop nutrient struggle with low prices.

The province had said any changes would be revenue-neutral to its treasury, but Potash Corp of Saskatchewan (POT.TO) raised concerns last year when the cash-strapped government took an interim step to boost its revenues.

“Part of the discussion is whether or not we do anything at the moment or whether we hold off on any kind of further discussion,” said Economy Minister Bill Boyd, in a phone interview from Regina on Thursday, adding that the government would probably decide within a week or two whether to end the process.

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Proposed Yancoal potash mine divides Saskatchewan community – by Adam Hunter (CBC News Saskatchewan – June 15, 2016)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/

Mine project curently under review by government

About 60 people crammed into a room at the legislature on Wednesday to voice their concerns over a proposed Yancoal potash mine near Southey.

“Ten years ago the province was begging to have a community like ours, now they are set to destroy it,” said Neil Wagner a Southey area business owner who grew up near the mine site.

“Our concern is about the environmental impact this is going to have and that’s our issue with it.” Yancoal, which is owned by the government of China, wants to build a solution mine, which would use millions of cubic metres of water each year to dissolve the potash.

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Expanded PotashCorp Rocanville will be one of the world’s biggest underground mines – by Bruce Johnstone (Regina Leader-Post – June 1, 2016)

http://leaderpost.com/

The finishing touches are being put on PotashCorp Rocanville’s $3-billion expansion project, which will double its production capacity, making it one of the biggest underground mines — potash or otherwise — in the world, according to PotashCorp Rocanville’s general manger.

“Our planned production is about five million tonnes per year,” Larry Long told a Saskatchewan Mining Week breakfast here Tuesday. “Obviously, this will be dictated by potash markets, but it will be quite a change for us at Rocanville (located about 200 km east of Regina near the Manitoba border). We typically did 2.5 million to 2.7 million tonnes per year, so this is a giant step up.”

Long, a mining industry veteran from New Brunswick, said the eight-year expansion project presented many challenges and obstacles to overcome, including an “monster feature” — an unexpectedly large salt formation — which separated the new and existing potash ore bodies.

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University of Saskatchewan offers mining specialization – by Alex Frazer-Harrison (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – May 28, 2016)

http://thestarphoenix.com/

POSTMEDIA CONTENT WORKS – A new set of undergraduate courses at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering is helping open the door for students seeking to enter the mining field.

The “mining engineering option” courses in geological, chemical and mechanical engineering allow students seeking a bachelor of engineering degree the opportunity to take additional specialized classes related to mining. Announced in 2013, the first five students to enrol will graduate this spring.

“This means students taking engineering degrees in chemical, mechanical or geological can pick up these mining-focused classes. … We have a strong interest at home because there are still very large mining operations in Saskatchewan,” says Al Shpyth, executive director of the International Minerals Innovation Institute, which entered into a funding agreement with the U of S for five mining-related courses and the options.

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