The Lester Centre of the Arts in Prince Rupert was packed on Tuesday night as hundreds of people came out for a public information session on the proposed Canpotex potash export facility on Ridley Island, and the large crowd in attendance was something that did not go unnoticed by Canpotex representative Jon Somers.
Potash exporter invests $37.5 million to speed up North Shore terminal
By Fiona Anderson, Vancouver SunOctober 20, 2009
Neptune Terminals in North Vancouver is getting a $37.5-million investment that will double the speed it can move potash.
The money – which is coming from Neptune’s shareholder Canpotex, the exporting arm for Saskatchewan’s potash producers – will be used to upgrade the material handling and conveyor systems that transports the potash from trains and moves it first into storage and then onto ships.
When completed, in about 18 months, the terminal will be able to move 6,000 tonnes of potash an hour, up from 3,000, Neptune’s president Jim Belsheim said in an interview.
That won’t double overall capacity but it will increase it significantly, he said.
“It allows us to run more reliably, [with] better service and more volume,” Belsheim said.
Belsheim expects that about 30 more full-time employees will be needed after the equipment is installed as shifts are added at the terminal.
In March, the federal and provincial governments announced they would provide $137 million towards $260-million worth of road and rail projects aimed at improving access to the terminals on the North Shore including Neptune.
Besides potash, which is used largely for fertilizer, metallurgical coal used in making steel and canola oil is also shipped through Neptune.
fionaanderson@vancouversun.com
Seems like Canpotex has decided to go with the North Van option. In the article posted in the post above this it says either expand North Vancouver or build new in Rupert. Hard for them to pick Rupert when feds and provincial governments are tossing in almost 400 mill for improvements on the North Shore.