Canadian potash company invests $500M in North Vancouver shipping terminal

A Saskatchewan-based potash exporter is investing $500 million to upgrade a North Vancouver shipping terminal and bolster Canadian potash shipments.

The money will replace and refurbish equipment at the Port of Vancouver’s Neptune Bulk Terminals, according to a news release from the Saskatchewan government. Gordon McKenzie, the company’s president and CEO, made the announcement at a groundbreaking event for a Canpotex infrastructure project Friday.

“Today’s investment at Neptune means we will be able to reliably export Saskatchewan potash through the Port of Vancouver to farmers overseas for decades to come,” McKenzie said in the release.

More than 15 million tonnes of Canadian potash are delivered by Canpotex annually. It ships the critical mineral from producers, including Nutrien and Mosaic Canada, to more than 40 countries every year, according to its website.

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority President and CEO Peter Xotta described Canpotex’s investment as “significant” in the news release.  The funds “will better connect Saskatchewan potash to key markets in South America, the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” he said.

“Port of Vancouver terminals, such as Neptune, are playing an outsized role moving more of what Canadians make to overseas markets in support of Canada’s goal to double exports to non-U.S. markets,” Xotta added.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said the company’s move reinforced the province’s position in the global potash market.

“By moving more Saskatchewan potash to international markets, this project will create new opportunities and support good jobs and economic growth in our province as well as across Canada,” Moe said in the news release.

Saskatchewan is home to the vast majority of Canada’s potash supply. From January to July of this year, $5.9 billion worth of its potash was sold, according to data from the province’s Ministry of Energy and Resources.