The update to the technical report of the Wynyard potash project, in Saskatchewan, has been delayed and will only be finalised in the new year, reports Canadian fertiliser products developer Karnalyte Resources.
The Toronto-listed company in March appointed consulting and engineering firm Wood to update its project plan, citing a strong outlook for the industry.
Karnalyte reported on Wednesday that the recent increase in potash prices had resulted in significant growth in western Canada’s economic activity and that this, in conjunction with supply chain constraints, had caused delays to the update of the technical report.
“Karnalyte remains focused on advancing the update to the National Instrument 43-101-complaint technical report and has continued making steady progress, despite challenges the mining industry is facing beyond our control,” said interim CEO Danielle Favreau.
Wood has provided Karnalyte with preliminary capital costs and operating cost estimates, which take into account changes to Saskatchewan’s tax regime, currency exchange rates and cost of labour. The company said it was reviewing these estimates.
The Wynyard project entails Phase 1 production of 625 000 t/y of high-grade granular potash, and two subsequent phases of 750 000 t/y each, taking total production up to 2.125-million tons a year.