BHP Says Final Investment Decision for Jansen By Feb. 2021
BHP Ltd., Melbourne, said in its latest Operational Review released today, the Jansen stage 1 potash project in Saskatchewan will be presented to its board for a final investment decision by February 2021.
The mining group said in order to make a final investment decision, work on engineering to support project planning and on finalising the port solution is required, and its board has approved US$144 million for these activities.
A further additional US$201 million in funding was approved to further de-risk the project, focusing on the mine’s scope of work, advancing other engineering and procurement activities, and preparation works for underground infrastructure.
“This will enable an efficient transition of the project team between the study and the execution phase, should the project be approved,” the group said, adding that the release of funding for the project will be staged over this period.
The stage 1 project BHP envisages for Jansen is a potential initial capacity of 4.3-4.5 million mt/y of potash, which it previously has said would take less than five years to complete and would require another US$5.3-$5.7 billion to complete.
The group also reported in today’s Operational Review for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2019, that its current investment program at the Jansen potash project was 84 percent complete – around the same advancement as at mid-July – and was within the previous approved budget of US$2.7 billion. It said preparation work for the final shaft sinking is continuing.