The $17bn Jansen project is a proposed underground potash development project located in Saskatchewan
FID for Jansen potash project scheduled in mid-2021. (Credit: Khusen Rustamov from Pixabay)
Anglo-Australian mining company BHP has agreed to invest an additional $272m in the $5bn Jansen Stage 1 potash project in Saskatchewan, Canada.
The $17bn Jansen project is a proposed underground potash development project located in Saskatchewan, within the Prairie Evaporite formation at depths of 900m- 1,000m.
The firm has already invested $2.7bn for the project. The Jansen Stage 1 potash project is 86% complete and is expected to have initial capacity of 4.3-4.5 Mt/y of potash.
BHP said that the latest investment follows challenges encountered with the shaft lining placement and the recent impacts from the company’s response plan for COVID-19.
The latest funding, which will be used for the completion of shafts lining at the project, brings the total budget to $3bn for the project, till date.
FID for Jansen potash project scheduled in mid-2021
In August, the company stated that the project would be presented to the board of directors in the middle of 2021 for the final investment decision (FID).
In a press statement, BHP said: “Jansen Stage 1 remains well positioned with attractive medium to longer-term commodity fundamentals, and is set to be a high-margin, low-cost, long-life asset, with multiple, basin-wide, expansion opportunities.
“As always, we will be disciplined about our entry into the market and it must pass our strict Capital Allocation Framework tests.”
BHP said it had five major development projects in petroleum, copper, iron ore and potash as of September 2020 quarter end. These projects have a combined value of $10.9 over their operational life.
Recently, BHP has dropped its plans for a A$3bn ($2.1bn) expansion of its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia.
The move comes as the studies of the ore body revealed weaker than expected results, the firm said.