K+S Potash Canada has launched a C$180-million lawsuit against Veolia Water Technologies, according to Canadian media reports. Veolia, which is headquartered in Paris, France, designed and supplied the HPD evaporation and crystallization technologies to the group’s Bethune potash mine, under a contract signed in early 2013.
One of the plant’s crystallizers was being prepared for testing when its steel frame collapsed on July 17, 2016 (GM July 22, 2016). No significant injuries were reported following what K+S Potash Canada described as “vessel support structure failure.” According to media reports, citing court documents, K+S is now seeking damages of more than C$180 million, including C$65 million in physical damage and an estimated loss of C$85 million due to an inability to produce potash.
While the commissioning of the Bethune processing plant remained on schedule for the end of August 2016, production of the first ton of potash at the site was delayed until the second quarter of 2017 (GM June 16, 2017) from the end of 2016, as originally planned (GM Aug. 11, 2016).