Just 2.5 kms from Mosaic’s Belle Plaine site sits a newly constructed rail car storage facility, a significant investment for the world’s largest potash solution mine, located near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Strategically placed near the site’s loadout building, the new facility will reduce containment risks associated with rail congestion and support its production and loading rate capabilities.  

Lead Engineer on the project, Derik Jones, Senior Engineer, Belle Plaine, says potash producers in Canada rely heavily on rail lines to efficiently move product to global customers who help the world grow the food it needs.

“95 percent of Canadian potash is exported via rail. During cold and snowy winter months, it isn’t uncommon for rail lines to experience congestion. A limited number of train cars available can make it difficult to move product off-site and across the country to ports on the coasts on route to our global customers,” explains Derik.

Over the past six months, materials were hauled and moved into place to complete the storage facility, which holds over 400 rail cars spanning over an incredible 29,000 feet – or 7 kms. The project, which was reviewed and approved by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Canadian Pacific Railway in mid-December, is now operational. Contractor partners, including Hatch, Cando, Caltech and Morsky, worked alongside Mosaic to complete the nearly $20 million capital project.   

 

What does it take to build a rail car storage facility spanning 7 km? Watch this short time-lapse video to find out:

“The onsite car storage will produce notable savings for Belle Plaine as the site should no longer incur costs associated with rail car demurrage, switching, storage, leased cars and empty car moves,” said Belle Plaine’s General Manager, Peter Haugen. “A big thank you and congratulations to the team who kept safety as the top priority allowing the project to be completed on budget with impeccable safety performance.”

The following images showcase the significant work that went into the facility as it came to life through 2020.

Construction of storage facility begins near Belle Plaine Facility:

Mid-2020 progress includes continued with hauling and placing materials on both sides of HWY 642.

 

Storage facility operational December 2020