Nutrien celebrates 65 years of potash production in Saskatchewan

The impact of the above and below-ground operations at Nutrien’s potash mines span multiple generations, fuelling the local economy and feeding the world.

Celebrating 65 years in the Saskatchewan potash industry, Nutrien gave a special tour of its Allan mine east of Saskatoon.

Building started in 1964, and the first tonne of raw ore was pulled up to the surface in 1968. Over the last six decades, it’s seen giant leaps in technology which have further improved safety and productivity.

“When I started here in the mid-1990s, we were producing around a million tonnes per year of potash,” said Les Frehlich, general manager at Nutrien Allan Potash. “Now we have the capability to produce three million tonnes per year, and we’re currently executing a few projects to get up to 3.5 million tonnes per year.”

Media were given a tour of the mine and mill processes to see how raw ore gets turned into a variety of products that help feed the world.

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The journey goes around a kilometre into the earth, unveiling a vast network of tunnels spanning 20 kilometres from north to south and almost 15 kilometres from west to east. It even crosses under Highway 16.

Massive equipment like the boring machine that was sent underground piece by piece and reassembled help miners carve into the rock face, leaving crop circle-like patterns in the walls.

The material goes into the machine and is sent along a conveyor belt back to the hoisting shaft. From there, it goes through the mill and is separated, crystallized and concentrated into finished potash products that are sent away by rail such as red standard, red granular, white soluble and white “chicklets”.

It’s that massive scale that attracts engineers to mining, and it’s why Nutrien recruits local students for hands-on training.

“The scale is one of the most exciting parts of the operation,” said Jacob Radocsay, an engineer-in-training internship student. “One of the reasons I was really interested in mining is some of the size of these operations. And Nutrien, with the size of the mines we have and the global impact that potash as a commodity has. So it’s very exciting to work for a company like that.”

Another internship student says the hands-on component has been invaluable.

“I came here for 16 months and got to work on a variety of different projects,” said Kasia McChesney, process engineer in training. “I kind of fell in love with the hands on of it all. We had a lot of time in the mill, so I get to directly see the equipment I'm working with, see the impact I'm making, see the changes I'm making, and I really like that.”

A steady paycheck means a career in mining can touch multiple generations as it does for Bob and Justin Boehm.

“My dad has been out here for 43 years, and I’ve been out here for 19 years now,” said Justin Boehm, mill maintenance superintendent.

The widespread use of machinery for mining today means a career can last longer than ever before, says Bob Boehm, warehouse coordinator.

“Oh, so much manual labour when I started,” he said. “Everybody picked, you worked, you hauled, you carried. Now, if you can find a better way and propose it, it’ll happen for you. I’m 65 years old and I’m still pretty effective at my job. 25 years ago, I would not have been.”

Second generation miner Brent Dauvin says while his friends left home to work in the oil and gas industry, he saw firsthand the value of working close to home.

“When it comes to a family environment, we have that,” said Dauvin, a mine operations general foreman. “We’re maybe 40 to 45 minutes out of Saskatoon, it’s a good drive but we’re always back home at the end of the day. My family, and now my current family has that, and I really wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Nutrien says every tonne of ore produced creates $40 dollars in wages, generating around $110 million dollars a year for employees to put into the local economy.