Having safely excavated the two 7.3-metre diameter service and production shafts to their full depths in August 2018, focus turned to preparing the temporary liners for the final watertight composite concrete and steel liners, and removing the two shaft boring roadheader (SBR) machines that excavated the shafts. The SBRs were removed from the shafts in April 2019. 

The service shaft and production shaft are 1,005 metres and 975 metres deep, respectively. Jansen is intended to mine the Lower Patience Lake potash formation, which lies between 935 metres and 940 metres.

Future work will include installing watertight composite concrete and steel final liners from a depth of approximately 800 metres upwards in both shafts. We expect the shafts to be completed in the first half of CY2021 and we continue to assess how to reduce risk and unlock value as we conclude this work. At the end of FY2019, the current scope of work was 84 per cent complete. 

We will continue the selection of a port option on the North American west coast from which Jansen’s potash would be exported. As with all decisions relating to the deployment of capital, the next steps of the Project will be assessed in line with our Capital Allocation Framework.