PotashCorp Adding Another 2.7 Million Tonnes of Capacity with Projects at Allan, Cory and Rocanville
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. announced plans to add 2.7 million tonnes of potash capacity at three of its Saskatchewan facilities. This capacity will be achieved through a new debottlenecking project at Allan and increases in the scope of projects announced in 2007 for Cory and Rocanville. Work on all three projects will be initiated immediately. These projects carry a combined cost of US $1.6 billion and will raise PotashCorp's operational capacity to 18 million tonnes by the end of 2012. The cost is approximately 60 percent less than that estimated for comparable greenfield capacity, and the projects will make the additional production available much more quickly than a new mine could be developed.
The Allan debottlenecking will add 1 million tonnes of annual production capability and raise its annual capacity to 3 million tonnes per year. Construction and ramp-up are scheduled for completion by the end of 2012. This project, which follows a 400,000-tonne expansion completed in 2007, has an estimated cost of US $350 million. At Cory, the new project will add 1 million tonnes to a 1.2-million-tonne-per-year debottlenecking and expansion project initiated in 2007. The initial project is scheduled for completion in 2010, with construction and ramp-up of the new project completed by the end of 2012. The additional work has an estimated cost of US $220 million and will raise the facility's annual capacity to 3 million tonnes.
At Rocanville, an additional 700,000 tonnes of capacity will be incorporated into the 2-million-tonne mine and mill project announced in 2007. With an additional investment of US $1.0 billion, the project now is expected to add a total of 2.7 million tonnes at a cost of US $2.8 billion and raise the facility's annual capacity to 5.7 million tonnes. Construction is scheduled for completion at the end of 2012 with ramp-up over the following two years.
These projects represent the continuation of a long-term potash capacity expansion program that includes completed work at Rocanville (2005), Allan and Esterhazy (2007) and Lanigan (2008), as well as in-progress construction projects scheduled for completion at Patience Lake (2008), Cory (2010), New Brunswick (2011) and Rocanville, Allan and Cory (2012). The financing for all projects is expected to be from free cash flow.
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