The first tonne of marketable potash is expected to be produced at the end of June from the first new mine in Saskatchewan in more than 40 years.
After five years of construction, German fertilizer company K+S is opening the new mine near the village of Bethune, about 70 kilometres north of Regina.
K+S says the first potash shipment by freight train will take place from the mine to its port facility in Vancouver and from there, it will be exported to customers mainly in South America and Asia.
The company also says it expects to achieve its desired production capacity of two million tonnes by the end of this year.
Norbert Steiner, chairman of the board of management of K+S, says the Bethune mine enables the company to participate in future market growth, reduce average production costs and strengthen international competitiveness.
The Bethune mine is the largest single project in the history of K+S and the company says it creates more than 400 permanent jobs in Canada.
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