N.B. potash project completes impact report, prepares to drill for samples this summer

Pieces of potash are shown at a surplus pile in Esterhazy, Sask. on Wednesday, May 3, 2017.

A proposed potash project near Sussex, N.B., has completed its archaeological impact assessment and is preparing to drill down more than a kilometre to collect samples this summer.

The Atlantic Potash Millstream Corporation says it has filed the assessment report on its Millstream Potash Project to the New Brunswick government.

“New Brunswick has made clear that it wants its mineral resources developed – and that is exactly what we are doing,” said Keith Attoe, CEO and director of the corporation, in a news release. “We have been advancing Millstream steadily and deliberately, through environmental assessment, community engagement, and technical work. We are ready to be the kind of partner the province is looking for.”

The corporation says its summer drill program will involve two boreholes that run roughly 1,100 metres deep. They will collect rock mechanical and processing data for the mine design in collaboration with Logan Drilling.

ERCOSPLAN, a German engineering consultancy group, will analyze the core samples.

According to the corporation, the proposed project holds a measured 52.1 million tonnes of potassium chloride, which is the most commonly used potash fertilizer.

The deposit is expected to support a mine for 25 years, producing two million tonnes per year.

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