Excavation on hold at BHP’s Jansen potash project
Digging expected to begin again in February
Underground excavation at BHP Billiton’s Jansen potash project has been stopped for the past month and a half and will not resume until February.
The Australian mining company says it has halted the excavation of their production and service shafts to review the progress it has made to date so it can use that information going forward. The move will have no impact on jobs at the site.
The details are contained in a half-year operational review released on Wednesday.
Last August, BHP Billiton announced it would invest an additional $2.6 billion in the Jansen potash project, but that it would develop the potential mine at a slower pace than previously expected.
The company said it expected to complete the two mine shafts by 2016.
Once the shafts are finished, BHP Billiton says the project will be eligible for mine status. At that point, work can begin on the surface with company saying it expects to be producing potash by 2018 at the earliest.