Estevan banking on ‘polygeneration facility’ for job creation

The City of Estevan has partnered with the Ocean Man First Nation and Buffalo Potash Corp., to see if they can build what they’re calling a “polygeneration facility” they hope will create hundreds of jobs in the region.

The industrial complex would take raw materials like coal, potash and gases and turn them into value-added products such as fertilizer, battery materials or pitch for carbon fibre.

“The idea here is rather than burning coal to make electrons, we convert the coal and other resource materials to other products — so we go from power generation to polygeneration,” Steve Halabura, the CEO of Buffalo Potash Corp., said in a news release.

“As a first step in converting this vision into value, the partnership is examining the feasibility of constructing a potash business based upon six modular mines, capable of collectively sending up to three million tonnes of raw potash feedstock per year to a potash-based fertilizer production facility located in Estevan,” the release says.

So far, the partners have entered a non-binding agreement for construction financing, “which may be some $500 million,” the release says. They are also in the process of acquiring land.

“We’ve progressed past the idea stage and we’re now looking at physical assets and services to move this forward,” says city manager Jeff Ward.

“It’s definitely a pivot of our normal natural resource industry and we think this is a potential solution that can use our workforce as well as some of the resources we have here in the city to really move forward and keep employment in the area.”