Canadian exploration and development company Atlantic Potash Millstream Corp. (APMC) has announced a series of milestones at its Millstream potash project near Sussex, N.B.
The announcement followed the introduction of a new Mineral Resources Act by the province of New Brunswick.
In a release, the company said the new Act signals the province’s commitment to unlocking the economic potential of its mineral assets. The company added that the legislation reflects a clear expectation that license holders actively advance their resources.
APMC is planning a summer drill program comprising two boreholes to about 1,100 metres depth, designed to gather the rock mechanical and processing data required for mine design, in collaboration with Logan Drilling.
Peter Block, a partner at FGS Longview, a corporate communications and public affairs firm, told Farmtario it is too early to determine the specific commercial arrangements for a mine that is still in development.
“Potash is a globally traded commodity, and Canadian producers typically sell into international markets — Brazil, the U.S., Southeast Asia — based on price and demand at the time of production. Any decisions about domestic versus export sales would be made much closer to production,” the company said.
An archaeological impact assessment has been completed, and a report has been filed with the province. Any additional assessment awaits the province’s review of the results, the company stated.
The core samples are subjected to a detailed rock mechanical analysis by ERCOSPLAN, a German engineering consultancy specializing in potash engineering for extraction, processing, and environmental protection, with over 70 years’ experience in this field, alongside many other investigations.
The scientific and technical analysis focuses on deriving a long-term safe mine design, with particular emphasis on preventing water ingress into the mine as well as damage to the aquifers and the surface.
‘Community engagement’
“New Brunswick has made clear that it wants its mineral resources developed and that is exactly what we are doing,” said Keith Attoe, CEO and director of APMC. “We have been advancing Millstream steadily and deliberately, through environmental assessment, community engagement, and technical work. We are ready to be the kind of partner the province is looking for.”
APMC said the company is initiating engagement with First Nations, co-ordinated by Stantec, and has opened dialogue with both municipalities in the project area. This engagement is designed to encourage community input to inform the project’s development from an early stage, the company said.
Potash hasn’t been actively mined in New Brunswick since 2016, when PotashCorp, which later merged into Nutrien, announced it would shut the last and newest of the mines it operated in the Sussex area.
The province in the past few years has sought to revive potash exploration in the same area – which has met with objections from the New Brunswick arm of the National Farmers Union.
The NFU in 2022 expressed concern about risks to local farmland, water tables and Indigenous stewardship, measured against extraction of minerals it said had been mainly shipped out of New Brunswick for export rather than made available to Canadian farmers.
The province noted at the time that potash in 2021 was placed on Canada’s critical minerals list, deeming it essential to Canadian economic security.
Saskatchewan remains the biggest potash-producing jurisdiction in the world, with 10 mines producing about 25 million tonnes in 2024 alone and another major mine expected to come online there next year.
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