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Major potash miner turning to AI and automation to improve operations
Nutrien has developed technology that allows for mining machines to be operated remotely
A milling facility at Nutrien Ltd.'s Cory potash mine in Saskatoon, Sask. PHOTO BY HEYWOOD YU/BLOOMBERG FILES
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The potash industry has undergone many changes over the decades in Saskatchewan.
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0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%It has grown exponentially since it began developing in the 1950s and has continued to expand as global population growth increased the demand for fertilizer, an important component of which is potash.
As that demand has steadily increased, Saskatoon-based Nutrien Ltd., the world’s largest potash producer, has been working to make its operations more efficient while also improving safety.
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At an investor day in June at the New York Stock Exchange, the company’s senior leadership announced plans to spend $15 million to $20 million annually over the next 10 years to continue automating its mining operations.
At the time, chief executive Ken Seitz said the company was hoping that 40 to 50 per cent of the ore tonnes being cut will be done by automation by 2026.
“It really is about maintaining our position on the cost curve,” he said.
Trevor Berg, Nutrien’s senior vice-president of Potash Operations, said along with increased efficiency, the company is trying to make its mine sites safer for workers by automating mining equipment and taking them out of harm’s way.
He said the company has developed technology that allows mining machines to be operated remotely.
“What that does is enable us to remove people from the active mining face, which reduces risk and risk profiles for our employees,” he said.
The technology allows the machines to be operated by technicians who are at a mining site on the surface or even at the company’s offices in Saskatoon.
Along with removing workers from harm’s way, Berg said the implementation of this technology means the company can operate mining machinery while shift changes are underway, saving a large amount of machine downtime.
