Saskatchewan Mining and Minerals Inc. beginning fertilizer production upgrade later this year
Construction is planned for a $220 million sulphate of potash (SOP) fertilizer production upgrade at Saskatchewan Mining and Minerals Inc.’s (SMMI) Chaplin, sodium sulphate plant. Construction is scheduled to begin by late 2021. The upgraded facility is expected to be complete by the end of 2023 and will produce an impressive 150,000 metric tonnes of sulphate of potash per year.
SMMI senior management’s decision to proceed with this facility upgrade was primarily based on the completion of a favourable Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) by the Saskatoon office of Wood Group. In addition, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment’s determination that this expansion is not a development and therefore will not require further environmental approvals, and the Saskatchewan Government’s conditional approval for funding of this major upgrade through the Saskatchewan Chemical Fertilizer Incentive also played significant roles in the decision to proceed.
SMMI sees great potential in combining its world-class sodium sulphate with Saskatchewan-produced potash to produce a high-value, premium SOP fertilizer for domestic and international growers. This move means SMMI and our province will support the needs of a growing food supply and enhance food security.
This expansion into SOP production will have immediate and long-term positive economic benefits for the town of Chaplin and for the Province of Saskatchewan as a whole. Construction on the upgrade is expected to take up to two years and will generate up to 700,000 labour hours. Once complete, the addition of SOP production will result in an estimated 50 per cent increase in jobs at the Chaplin facility on an ongoing basis.
“As we emerge and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Saskatchewan’s rural communities and industries will play a vital role in that recovery. Saskatchewan Mining and Minerals’ SOP fertilizer upgrade is leading that charge and will help us deliver on our mandates of growing our natural resource and agricultural economies, creating jobs and growing Saskatchewan exports,” stated Lyle Stewart, MLA for Lumsden - Morse,
“The Government of Saskatchewan has been engaged and highly supportive in their efforts to get behind SMMI, as it seems our project is directly aligned with their 10-year plan to create jobs, stimulate the economy, and to help build a strong economy and quality of life for Saskatchewan people,” said Rodney Mccann, President of Saskatchewan Mining and Minerals Inc.
The agreement by Veolia Water Technologies, the global leader in large-scale, highly integrated process solutions to develop the process design has been integral to the advancement of this project. SMMI has always been focused on energy efficiency and environmental sustainability at our facilities. This facility upgrade is planning to implement a cutting-edge design and technology — the first of its kind in Canada — that promises to be up to 25 per cent more energy efficient than the technology currently being used to produce SOP.
“SMMI’S fertilizer production upgrade is an exciting move forward, with a dedication to sustainability. We are proud to partner with SMMI on this project and look forward to what’s to come,” says Jim Brown, CEO of Veolia Water Technologies Americas.
This expansion has widespread support, and is an exciting and forward-looking opportunity for all.
“Saskatchewan is the only place on this planet that has the abundance of natural resources, the infrastructure, reputation, climate, people, and progressive supportive government to allow for a project like this,” says Mccann. “In these challenging times, it seems only natural for an absolute ‘only in Saskatchewan’ opportunity to take centre stage in the rapidly growing global plant nutrition industry.”