Company: Encanto Potash Corp.
Project: Muskowekwan
Location: 100 kilometres north of Regina
Est. Resource: Expected in Q1, 2011
Est. Mine Life: Expected in Q1, 2011
Est. Production Start: 2014 to 2016
Advantage: First Nation relationships
While Encanto's official resource estimate isn't expected until early next year, company president and CEO Jim Walchuck is confident the company's Muskowekwan project will win the greenfield race.
"We're going to take a run at it, definitely," Walchuck said in a recent interview from his Vancouver office.
Plans to build a conventional potash mine in central Saskatchewan are coming together and the resource at the site "is as good or better than anyone else out there," the CEO said. But what really sets Encanto apart is its relationship with Saskatchewan's First Nations.
"What makes it special is the fact that they want this project to go ahead as much as we want this project to go ahead, so there's no impetus to slow us down," he said. "We're both aligned in getting this project into production as fast as possible."
Because First Nation land is under federal regulation, the company only has to work with Ottawa and its aboriginal partners on the development of a Muskowekwan mine. Of course, Walchuck said, Encanto will abide by provincial regulations and guidelines.
However, the CEO added, having only two main stakeholders to work with speeds up the entire greenfield process.
"The biggest thing is to get your mining permit, and having only two stakeholders makes it a lot better for us and therefore should be a lot faster for us," he said.
Four to six years from now, Encanto could have a potash mine in production.
"What is the opportunity? I think it's pretty high," he said.
http://www.leaderpost.com/Whic…/story.html#ixzz1BCeXFG52
“There’s six holes surrounding it that tell us that there’s potash at fairly good grades, and then we have two holes telling us that it’s as good or better than the existing mines right now,” said Encanto President and C.E.O. James Walchuck.
Interessanter Clip zur einigung mit den First Nation in Muskowekwan: