‘Consequential’ damage after equipment collapse at Saskatchewan potash mine
by The Canadian Press
Construction at K+S Potash's $4.1 billion Legacy Mine project outside Regina on hold as investigators look into collapse
K+S Potash Canada’s Legacy project in Saskatchewan. The company said last month it expected the site to commission the site in August. PHOTO: K+S Potash
BETHUNE, Sask.—An investigation is underway after a large piece of equipment collapsed during routine testing at the site of a potash mine under construction in Saskatchewan.
Officials with K+S Potash Canada said in a release that there were no serious injuries when equipment used for processing fell early July 17 morning at their Legacy Mine, about 60 kilometres northwest of Regina.
One media report says a worker suffered a sprained thumb.
The statement says the accident resulted in “consequential damage,” but no other details have been released.
Social media postings by construction workers indicate that as of Sunday evening, the site was on a temporary stand-down.
About 3,000 workers have been involved in construction of the mine, which is expected to begin production this summer with about 100 permanent staff.
K+S Potash Canada is part of the K+S Group, an international resources company that has been mining and processing mineral raw materials for 125 years. The company announced last month construction on the $4.1 billion Legacy project had entered the “final stretch.” It anticipated commissioning the site, which is designed to produce as much as 2.86 million tonnes of potash per year, in August.
The first greenfield potash mine to be built in the province for nearly 40 years, construction on the site began in 2012.
