BHP plans to start hiring around 600 workers this year for the Jansen potash project. Jansen potash project/Courtesy BHP  

By Doug Lett

Jansen mine employment

Exciting growth predicted for Humboldt region

Jan 6, 2023 | 2:00 PM

A business group in Humboldt says the region is heading for a time of exciting growth, as mining giant BHP intends to start hiring some 600 permanent employees this year to operate the Jansen potash mine.

“To me, this is the most exciting time that this region has ever seen,” said Brent Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce.

The $5.7 billion dollar project, located about 140 kilometers east of Saskatoon, is expected to be the largest potash mine in the world, once it starts production in 2026.

“I don’t think there’s a business out there, that’s not looking forward to it,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s a substantial change to our business environment, it’s going to increase volume, everywhere, in almost every business out there.”

Fitzpatrick said construction has already had significant spinoffs for some companies in the region. “There have been some who have picked up an awful lot of work out there,” he said.

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But the addition of some 600 permanent employees, many of whom will be living in the Humboldt region, will create an ongoing demand that the area has not seen before, he said.

“It’s going to happen through real estate initially, it’s going to happen through construction to help fill that demand because, you know, our region simply doesn’t have the housing that’s able to accommodate that influx. So there’s going to be an impact and it’ll be happening within the next year,” said Fitzpatrick.

Construction at the Jansen project is ongoing, and peak construction employment is expected to be around 2500 people.

Potash is used in fertilizer, and BHP has said the demand could double in the coming decades. That’s because the amount of cultivated land in the world to grow crops is not expected to increase much, while the world’s population continues to grow.

Both Premier Scott Moe, and Federal Industry Minister Francois Philippe-Champagne tweeted about the project earlier this week.

“Saskatchewan’s economy continues to move full steam ahead in 2023 with more jobs being created,” tweeted Moe in reference to the project.

And the federal industry minister tweeted “that investment means hundreds of more jobs in Saskatchewan and developing the critical minerals that the world needs.”

For Fitzpatrick, the Jansen project is likely the biggest development that people in the region are going to see for a long time.

“There’ll be nothing that will match this,” he said. “Our world is literally going to change, you know, as that mine goes into production.”

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doug.lett@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @DougLettSK