The Saskatchewan Government has granted conditional environmental assessment approval to CanPacific’s Albany Potash Project, slated to be constructed north of Weyburn, near Francis. The approval was announced Wednesday. The decision came after the province received more than 450 responses during the public review period, which was held from March 16th to May 15th of this year.

“This is just the first of a number of approvals that they will need to bring the mine to a developed state, but obviously the environmental one is a major one for us to move forward with the project,” explained Environment Minister Dustin Duncan.

There were a number of conditions attached to the approval.

CanPacific must submit a signed Development Plan Agreement to the Rural Municipality of Francis prior to construction starting. Additionally, the company must identify affected native grasslands and wetlands, work to restore or enhance existing areas or create new ones, and provide a timeline for the work as well.

“In the event that there is the potential for impact on either grasslands or wetlands, they will need to have a mitigation plan approved by the Ministry of Environment before they get approval for those sites as well,” added Duncan.

The proposed Albany Potash Project is a 3.25 million tonne-per-year solution mine. The proposed location is north of Francis.