PotashCorp. has secured AMEC to create a new mine and expand existing operations in New Brunswick.
AMEC, the international project management and services company, will provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for the estimated CDN $1.7 billion (USD $1.6 billion) project. The project, which is awaiting regulatory approval, will take four years to complete.
"We will manage the expansion and development of the new mine while allowing the existing facilities to continue producing 750,000 tons per year," states AMEC's Will Brandsema, vice president and manager of the Picadilly project. "While this makes the project more challenging, we will leverage the company's existing assets and reduce the capital cost by up to one-third of a new potash operation."
Potash is an essential mineral fertilizer for a number of crops, including biofuels, and PotashCorp is the world's largest fertilizer company. When completed, the new mine is expected to produce 2 million tons of potash a year from the Picadilly deposit in New Brunswick.
AMEC is currently expanding PotashCorp's Lanigan and Cory operations. These projects, combined with the Picadilly project, will boost production by 39 per cent to 14.9 million tons per year by 2011.