Compass to boost salt capacity

Overland Park, Kan.-Compass Minerals said Sept. 24 that it plans to continue expansion of production capacity at its primary rock salt mine at Goderich, Ont., in order to meet projected long-term demand for highway deicing salt in the Great Lakes region. “This expansion, which would add approximately one million tons of annual production capacity, is part of our previously announced multi-phased strategy to meet demand growth in the core Great Lakes region we serve,” said Angelo Brisimitzakis, Compass Minerals’ president and CEO. “While demand for highway deicing salt fluctuates with the severity of winter weather, there is good underlying long-term growth in the Great Lakes region. This added capacity will enable us to meet this increased demand as it occurs over the next decade.” When this expansion is completed, the total annual capacity of the Goderich mine ?Çô already the largest salt mine in the world ?Çô is expected to be approximately 8.25 million tons per year. The one million ton expansion is expected to come online during 2009, with full availability starting in 2010. Compass Minerals’ multi-phase strategy also encompasses a 750,000 ton capacity expansion, announced last year and scheduled to be fully operational in 2008, and the installation of a new state-of-the-art screening mill that became operational this year. The capital cost of the just announced expansion is expected to be approximately $15 million over the next two years. The bulk of the investment is for the purchase and installation of additional hoisting equipment that will enable more salt to be brought to the surface. When the expansion is fully operational and the additional capacity is needed, total employment at the Goderich site will increase by about 50 jobs from its current level of more than 400. Compass Minerals currently has the capacity to produce approximately 6.5 million tons of rock salt at the mine in Goderich, Ontario, 2.8 million tons at its mine in Cote Blanche, Louisiana, and 2.0 million tons at its mine in Cheshire, U.K., making it the largest supplier of deicing salt in the world.