The public can get a look at Pacific Coast Terminals' plans for handling potash at an open house next Tuesday at Port Moody's Old Mill Boathouse.
PCT signed an agreement with K+S Potash Canada in April and expects to be handling about 1.8 million tonnes of the material, starting late in 2016, from the company's Legacy mine project in Saskatchewan.
"Clearly, this is beneficial to PCT but we believe it is also quite beneficial to Port Moody," Wade Leslie, PCT's vice-president and general manager, said in a presentation to PoMo council Tuesday.
The agreement will mean about 300 full-time construction jobs over two years as PCT builds its potash handling facilities as well as about 60 new full-time jobs at PCT once the operation is running.
The new facility will also put an additional $2.5 million in PoMo's tax coffers.
PCT will be handling three grades of the material, which is largely used as a fertilizer, and will be adding an automated railcar dumper with conveyors to a storage shed. The shed, 83 m wide, 34 m high and almost three football fields long, will be capable of holding 160,000 tonnes of potash.
All construction will take place within PCT's existing footprint and conveyors, transfer points and ship-loaders will be enclosed or covered to minimize dust.
To handle the increase in vessel traffic PCT is also planning to dredge the navigation channel near its facility.
Leslie said dredged material will be relocated to a deep portion of the inlet near PCT, an area that was significantly over-dredged in the 1960s, providing an overall environmental benefit by returning the sea floor closer to its original elevation and to available sunlight.
Port Metro Vancouver is expected to grant the dredging permit in November, with dredging slated to run until February 2015. Potential impacts for nearby residents include noise from the suction engines and bright lights on the dredge when it's in operation.
In response to questions from council, Leslie said the dredging is needed to allow vessels to travel the channel during different tide levels and to prepare for different customers.
"With more diverse product lines, you have competing interests," Leslie said. "You don't want to have a potash vessel waiting for a sulphur vessel - there's a lot of money on the line for these vessels."
In addition to its existing sulphur operation, PCT is expanding to handle canola oil, likely by the end of the year.
The Sept. 16 open house at the Old Mill Boathouse will feature information displays starting at 6 p.m. and a formal presentation at 7 p.m. PCT staff will be on hand to answer any questions. Visit www.pct.ca for more information.
