Capital Projects Coordination with Peter Lucas
Peter Lucas is proud to have secondment services in place at Mosaic's Belle Plaine site, supporting their capital team with ongoing mine development. Patricio Hornig works as a Capital Projects Coordinator for the Mining Area Cluster Development project.
Generally in Saskatchewan, potash lies approximately 1km below the surface and is extracted through conventional mining activities - think underground mining machines and miles of tunnels deep in the earth. When the ore deposit lies deeper, as it does below Belle Plaine, solution mining becomes the safer and more economical method of extraction. Warm brine is injected through deep wells into the potash formation, which dissolves and is pumped to surface for refining. These wells are developed in groups or clusters, with multiple wells in each cluster site for efficient extraction of the potash ore.
Belle Plaine was the first of its kind as is now the world's largest potash solution mine. Mosaic continues to refine their process with each cluster site development and is a leader in developing this unique technology.
The current cluster site development is a major capital project that will sustain Belle Plaine's annual production as older solution mining caverns near end of life. Construction is coming along nicely; during the Peter Lucas site tour at the end of June, drilling activities were nearly complete, with an average well depth of more than 1500m. Next steps include installation of wellheads, supply & installation of piping and equipment, instrumentation, buildings, and pond pipeline installation and connections. Mosaic's in-house engineering team collaborates with a select group of consultants to ensure efficient project management.
Patricio provides support through coordination and monitoring of the thousands of items coming through the door to be included in the construction of the cluster site. As part of the capital projects coordination at Mosaic's Belle Plaine site, the team manages material procurement and delivery. Due to the complexity of the project, precise coordination is essential to ensure just-in-time delivery, synchronizing material arrivals with construction schedules. It's a collaborative effort between the office, drafting, procurement, scheduling, and construction teams to keep the supply chain efficient and ready for the project. As well, continuous improvement ad risk mitigation are integral to the process.
"While in my home country, Chile, I had extensive construction expertise, adapting to the industrial setting here has been a unique and encouraging adventure. Having the chance to work in a one-of-a-kind mine plant has been a game changer."
When reflecting on the work he's performed for Belle Plaine through his position with Peter Lucas, Patricio says, "Embarking on this challenging yet rewarding journey has been truly remarkable. As someone whose native language isn't English, I had to retrain myself before diving into this role. The opportunity given to me is something I'm immensely thankful for - I never expected to assume such a significant role and responsibility within just a year of being in Canada. While in my home country, Chile, I had extensive construction expertise, adapting to the industrial setting here has been a unique and encouraging adventure. Having the chance to work in a one-of-a-kind mine plant has been a game changer."
For more details on Peter Lucas projects visit https://www.peterlucas.ca/project-highlights.