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Location: 7.5 km W from Vanscoy, Saskatchewan, Canada
16 Agrium RoadVanscoySaskatchewan, CanadaS0L 3J0
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Much of southern Saskatchewan is underlain by the Prairie Evaporite Formation, a layered sequence of salts and anhydrite which contains one of the world’s largest deposits of potash. The potash extracted from the predominantly sylvinitic ore has its main use as a fertilizer.The 100 m to 200 m thick Prairie Evaporite Formation is overlain by approximately 400 m of Devonian carbonates followed by 100 m of Cretaceous sandstone, 400 m of Cretaceous shales, and 100m of recent Pleistocene glacial tills to surface. The Prairie Evaporite Formation is underlain by Devonian carbonates. The Phanerozoic stratigraphy of Saskatchewan is remarkable in that units are flat-lying and relatively undisturbed over very large areas.Potash mineralization in this region of Saskatchewan is predominantly sylvinite, which is comprised mainly of the minerals sylvite (KCl) and halite or rock salt (NaCl), with trace carnallite (KMgCl3 · 6H2O) and minor water insolubles. Potash fertilizer is concentrated, nearly pure KCl (i.e. greater than 95% pure KCl), but ore grade is traditionally reported on a % K2O equivalent basis. The “% K2O equivalent” gives a standard measurement of the nutrient value of different potassium-bearing rocks and minerals. To convert from % K2O equivalent tonnes to actual KCl tonnes, multiply by 1.58.Over the past three years (2018, 2019, 2020), the average measured potash ore grade of the mill feed at Vanscoy was 25.6% K20 equivalent. The average ore grade reported from 36 historic surface drillhole intersections, all within Vanscoy Subsurface Mineral Lease KL 114C, is 24.9% K20 equivalent (discussed further in Section 10.0). The average ore grade observed from thousands of in-mine samples collected to the end of December 2020 is 24.2% K20 equivalent.There are three mineable potash members within the Prairie Evaporite Formation of Saskatchewan. Stratigraphically highest to lowest, these members are: Patience Lake, Belle Plaine, and Esterhazy.The Vanscoy potash deposit lies within the Patience Lake Potash Member of Prairie Evaporite Formation. There are two potash seams named A Zone and B Zone within this Member; at present, only the A Zone is being mined at Vanscoy and no test mining has been carried out in the B Zone to date. Neither the Esterhazy nor the White Bear Potash Members are present in the Vanscoy area. The Belle Plaine Potash Member is not well-developed, and therefore is not mined.Vanscoy potash mineralization occurs at approximately 1,000 m to 1,120 m depth below surface. The A Zone is approximately 3.35 m thick and occurs near the top of the Prairie Evaporite Formation salts. Salt cover from the ore zone to overlying units is approximately 12 m.
