BHP’s major Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan, Canada, has ordered US$216 million of underground mining equipment for delivery from the second half of next year through to 2026.
The world’s biggest mining company approved US$5.7 billion of capital expenditure for Jansen Stage 1 (Jansen S1) last August. It has already spent $4.5 billion on a production shaft and underground infrastructure, underlining the ultimate scale of what is expected to become the world’s largest potash producer.
BHP says Jansen S1 is expected to produce about 4.35 million tonnes of potash per annum “and has a basin position with the potential for further expansions, subject to studies and approvals”.
First ore is scheduled for 2027, with construction and ramp-up expected to take eight years all up.
Sweden’s Sandvik said the SEK2 billion equipment order from BHP followed “several years of close collaboration with the customer … to develop the underground mining equipment and automation solution”.
On social media, the company’s commercial vice president Jakob Rutqvist said the manufacturer’s MF460 “production system” would initially be 80% electric, “reaching 100% electrification by 2031”.
Sandvik describes the MF460 crawler-mounted borer miner as the world’s heaviest and most powerful continuous miner.
