Agrium Inc. has announced that its Board of Directors has approved a one million tonne brownfield potash capacity expansion at its Vanscoy potash facility in Saskatchewan, Canada.
The expansion is expected to increase annual production capacity by approximately 50 per cent, bringing total annual nameplate capacity to three million tonnes. Capital expenditure for the project is expected to be approximately $1,500 per tonne. The majority of the project construction is expected to take place in 2012 and 2013, with completion projected by the second half of 2014.
"Today's announcement is a great step forward in the execution of Agrium's strategic objectives, helping to meet an ever-growing global demand for potash, while providing significant economic benefits to the people of Saskatchewan," said Agrium President & CEO Mike Wilson.
"We believe that our brownfield potash expansion will ultimately be much quicker to bring on, and significantly less expensive to develop, than any Greenfield project that is under consideration," added Mr. Wilson.
The engineering and construction of the expansion will be conducted by a Joint Venture between SNC Lavalin Inc. and PCL Industrial Management Inc. Agrium is the third largest potash producer in North America. Our Vanscoy mine directly employs over 600 people. In 2010, Agrium produced 1.8 million tonnes of potash with total net sales of $646-million.
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