Resource World Magazine

f e b r u a r y / m a r c h 2 0 1 6 www.resourceworld.com 59 soluTion mining Solution mining involves the injection of heated brine (a salt and water solution) to extract potash from the underground ore bodies. The resulting potash-rich brine is pumped to surface ponds or crystalizers where the potash is extracted. PotashCorp's Patience Lake operation was originally a conventional mine but has been converted to a solution mine. convenTional underground mining Conventional underground mining is the most common mining method accounting for almost 80% of global potash capac- ity. Of the six mines PotashCorp owns and operates in Canada, five are conventional underground mines. Each mine has at least two shafts: a service shaft that transports people and materials and a production shaft for hoisting potash ore. Potash is mined using massive mining machines that weigh approximately 200 tonnes. The mined ore is transported underground by conveyors and brought to the surface to be milled. mammoTh mining machines Potash is mined using two and four-rotor continuous boring machines. A continuous miner is a mining machine that produces a constant stream of ore from the working face of the mine to a conveyer system that transports it to a shaft where it is lifted to the surface. They can mine up to 900 tonnes per hour, making paths of up to 7.9 metres wide and 3.7 metres high. PotashCorp has automated some machines to automatically measure ore grades and mine only the richest ore. One of the machines PotashCorp uses is called the Marietta Miner. The company says that, "Weighing in at more than 200 tonnes, this powerful and sophisticated machine can have either two or four giant rotors that cut into the potash ore. By digging a path as wide as a two-car garage, the Marietta Miner mines more than 15 tonnes of ore per minute. A series of elaborately connected conveyor belts transports the ore from the mining machines to the skip." Sending equipment up to the sur- face for repairs would be far too costly, so PotashCorp brought everything they need underground. The mine is like an underground city; the mine incorporates a maintenance shop, an electrical shop and a parts department. Once the ore is processed the finished product is transferred to onsite warehouses that have the capability to store several grades of potash. The majority of PotashCorp's pot- ash is loaded onto railcars for delivery to customers around the world. n 2014 RECIPIENT OF THE " David Barr Award for Leadership and Innovation in Mineral Exploration Health and Safety" "Safe Day Everyday Gold Award" 1.888.228.1234 • www.geotechdrilling.com LEFT: A Goodman Wabco Borer from PostashCorp's Allan facility, Allan Saskatchewan. Photo courtesy of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.

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