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Saskatchewan Mining

A single potash project is saving Saskatchewan from stagnation – by Ty Thiessen (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – June 3, 2025)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

Today, BHP’s Jansen potash mine singlehandedly drives Saskatchewan’s economy in spite of, and not because of, provincial policy.

Saskatchewan’s premier has been keen to share indicators of this province’s economic health. We’re told that Saskatchewan is “leading the nation.” The government reports that Saskatchewan had Canada’s second highest economic growth last year, and that “many sectors” contributed.

Not only did few sectors contribute to that growth, but a whopping 72 per cent of it came from BHP’s Jansen potash project. Since 2022, more than two-thirds of Saskatchewan’s economic growth was spending on the Jansen mine. Without this project, Saskatchewan’s economy would’ve been dead last in 2024.

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Nutrien plans new West Coast port infrastructure, eyes sites in U.S. and Canada – by Kate Helmore and Jason Kirby (Globe and Mail – May 29, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Nutrien is planning to build a major terminal at a Pacific Northwest port and is eyeing sites in the U.S. and Canada, according to chief executive officer Ken Seitz. The Saskatchewan-based fertilizer giant is searching for a deep-water port with rail infrastructure that can handle bulk potash exports for fast-growing markets in the Indo-Pacific, including China, India and Japan, Mr. Seitz said in an interview.

Regulations, taxes and approval timelines will influence the company’s decision about whether to choose the U.S. or Canada. “I just want to make sure the downstream infrastructure and the associated regulatory environment continues to be one conducive to us,” he said.

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Trump wants the U.S. to dominate uranium production. What does that mean for Canada’s miners? – by Matthew McClearn (Globe and Mail – May 26, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The United States is a lightweight in uranium, but it wasn’t always this way. From the 1950s through the 1980s, it was the world’s leading producer of the silvery-grey metal and was largely self-sufficient. U.S. President Donald Trump now aims to return to this past, part of a broader effort to achieve what he calls “American energy dominance.” He has signed several orders aimed at fostering domestic uranium production and disadvantaging foreign producers.

Tim Gitzel, chief executive officer of Canadian uranium giant Cameco Corp., dismissed the fallout from Mr. Trump‘s recent actions as mere “distractions” during a conference call earlier this month with investors. The logic underpinning such nonchalance has implications for investors, miners and the Trump administration alike.

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Saskatchewan’s first lithium brine project receives initial approval – by Drew Postey (CTV News Regina – May 21, 2025)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/

Saskatchewan has granted initial approval for the province’s first lithium brine project. The project will be run by Arizona Lithium in Saskatchewan’s southeast. Known as the Prairie Lithium Brine Project, the company says a “vast untapped lithium brine resource” is located in the Duperow Formation of Saskatchewan’s Williston Basin.

According to the company, the project will utilize conventional oil and gas drilling methods to access lithium-rich brine more than two kilometres underground.

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Cameco CEO says Carney supportive of nuclear energy industry as uranium demand grows – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Financial Post – May 16, 2025)

https://financialpost.com/

Speedy development of resource projects could be crucial for Canada’s uranium industry

The chief executive of the world’s largest uranium miner believes Prime Minister Mark Carney will be supportive of Canada’s nuclear industry as it looks ahead to meet growing demand. Saskatoon-based Cameco Corp. chief executive Tim Gitzel said the federal government needs to be interested in growing nuclear energy and hopes that will happen under Carney’s leadership, based on past dealings with the prime minister.

Carney and Gitzel met previously amid a joint deal between Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. to buy Westinghouse Electric Co. in 2023. At the time, Carney was chair and head of Transition Investing at Brookfield.

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A fork in the road: As bifurcation hits the global uranium industry, the secure path leads to Canada: – by Sergey Sukhankin (MacDonald Laurier Institute – May 7, 2025)

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Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has forever changed global commodities markets. The economic sanctions subsequently imposed on Russia exposed multiple risks related to (over)reliance on a single or dominant suppliers of critical materials (Sukhankin 2024a). The European Union (EU) was hit particularly hard thanks to its decades-long reliance on Russia’s inexpensive commodities. The EU’s dependence also made it vulnerable to external pressure and blackmail.

The “Russia sanctions” fallout has revealed a much bigger problem. While natural resources will continue to be used as a geopolitical weapon in the unfolding East-West rivalry, the focus is likely to shift from hydrocarbons to critical minerals in the medium-term. This trend is visible in China’s series of decisions (2023–25) to restrict exports of several types of critical metals and technologies (Shivaprasad, Lv, and Jackson 2024) that are instrumental for innovation and technological sectors of Western economies.

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Opinion: What about processing in this nuclear boom? – by Shaun Spelliscy (Northern Miner – May 9, 2025)

https://www.northernminer.com/

A few months ago, I joined a group of farmers discussing Saskatchewan’s modular nuclear reactor proposal. I supported the idea but raised a simple question: Where will Saskatchewan source the fuel? One farmer shot back, “Are you stupid? We have some of the world’s largest uranium reserves right here in the Athabasca Basin.”

What Farmer Jed didn’t realize is that a Candu nuclear reactor isn’t a coal locomotive. Uranium must be processed before it can be used as fuel. While Saskatchewan mines the raw material, Ontario reaps the economic rewards by refining and manufacturing Candu reactor fuel.

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What you need to know about Trump’s tariffs on Canadian potash on ‘Liberation Day’ – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Saskatoon StarPhoenix – April 02, 2025)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

The White House has indicated that any new tariffs announced will stick, even if they affect American farmers

United States tariffs on Canadian potash may be going up on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump moves to impose reciprocal tariffs on all its trading partners, including Canada, just as a previous exemption limiting the levy to 10 per cent expires.

Trump has hailed April 2 as “Liberation Day” for the U.S. and said the new round of tariffs will match surtax charges countries impose on American imports. The White House said on Monday that reciprocal tariffs would go into effect immediately.Meanwhile, April 2 is also the date an exemption reducing potash tariffs to 10 per cent from 25 per cent are set to expire.

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Canada exempts Paladin’s PLS from non-resident ownership policy (Mining Weekly – March 17, 2025)

https://www.miningweekly.com/

Uranium miner and developer Paladin Energy has been granted an exemption from Canada’s Non-Resident Ownership Policy (NROP) for its Patterson Lake South (PLS) uranium project in Saskatchewan. The exemption allows Paladin, which is listed on the ASX and TSX, to maintain a 100% controlling interest in PLS as it moves toward commercial production.

The exemption was secured in connection with Paladin’s acquisition of Fission Uranium, which was completed in late December.

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NexGold announces positive feasibility study update for Goliath gold complex – by Staff (Canadian Mining Journal – March 13, 2025)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

NexGold Mining announce potential positive outcomes as itworks towards the completion of its feasibility study for its Goliath gold complex located in the Wabigoon Greenstone belt in northwestern Ontario. NexGold Mining is a gold-focused company with assets in Canada and Alaska. The company expects the feasibility study in the second quarter of this year.

The Goliath gold complex project utilized a combination of open-pit and underground mining methods to extract gold ore. The company’s feasibility study is being prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

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What is potash and why is the U.S. dependent on Canada for it? – by Kenn Oliver (National Post – March 9, 2025)

https://nationalpost.com/

Rare mineral found primarily in Saskatchewan, home to the world’s largest mines and deposits

Anyone following the on-again, off-again trade war between Canada and the U.S. will have seen potash mentioned among major Canadian exports to the U.S. subject to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs. But what is potash and why is it integral to the neighbouring nations’ trade relationship? Here’s a guide to understanding the rare earth mineral and its part in the dispute.

What is potash and what is it used for?

Potash is a group of minerals and chemicals that contain potassium – K on the periodic table. Its main form, after deep-earth mining and milling, is as potassium chloride (KCl), almost all of which is used as a fertilizer to improve crop root strength, disease resistance, water retention and yield by protecting and restoring soil fertility, making it essential to global food security.

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Canada has to develop uranium enrichment if wants to succeed in the new nuclear era – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix – February 28, 2025)

https://thestarphoenix.com/

A number of steps need to be taken, including in legislation, to lay the groundwork to build up Canada’s enrichment capacity

In the push to decarbonize power generation in Canada, many provinces have begun to explore deploying nuclear power to help eliminate carbon-emitting sources, just as many countries are doing.

The looming expansion of nuclear power generation is leading to growth in the uranium mining industry in northern Saskatchewan, but some industry observers are pointing to another pressing area in need of further development: the enrichment of uranium.

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[Saskatchewan Potash] Pink Gold – by Kate Helmore (Globe and Mail – March 1, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Trump said Canada has nothing the U.S. needs. When it comes to potash, the president couldn’t be more wrong

In Saskatchewan, 1,000 metres below the surface of the earth, in a cavern heated to a sweltering 27 C by geothermal energy, a machine is boring into the ground, searching for a compound that is critical to worldwide food production and crucial in Canada’s current trade battle with the United States. Launched just a few weeks ago, this boring machine is hooked up to a fibre-optic connection, and operated from a climate-controlled office on the surface.

This single tunnel, called a face, was sunk at a cost of $30-million. And it is just one in a network spread across six mines owned and operated by Nutrien Ltd. , Canada’s largest mining company and a major supplier of agricultural inputs worldwide. However, the company jewel – and a source of US$3-billion in net sales last year – was a single nutrient: potash.

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As tensions rise, Canada to lean on U.S. for uranium enrichment – by Matthew McClearn (Globe and Mail – February 24, 2025)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Even as U.S. President Donald Trump talks of waging a campaign of “economic force” to persuade Canada to join a political union with the United States, Ontario Power Generation is preparing to construct an American reactor at its Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. The reactor’s uranium fuel would be enriched at a facility in New Mexico, a new vulnerability U.S. administrations could exploit.

Canada’s 17 operating reactors are of the homegrown Candu design, which consume natural uranium. Canada possesses uranium in abundance and has long made its own fuel. But nearly all the reactors promoted for construction now require enriched uranium, which Canada can’t produce.

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American farmers will bear cost of Trump’s tariffs on potash, says Nutrien CEO – by Michael Joel-Hansen (Financial Post – February 21, 2025)

https://financialpost.com/

Company hikes dividend, though earnings fall 33% on lower prices

Farmers in the United States will be the ones absorbing any additional expenses if Donald Trump’s planned tariffs take effect next month, says Nutrien Ltd. chief executive Ken Seitz.

“The costs of this would be borne by the U.S. farmer; the tariff cost and tariff impact will be passed onto the U.S. farmer,” he said on a fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts, adding that American farmers are very dependent on Canadian potash. “Canadians supply over 80 per cent of that market.”

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