Buffalo Potash has secured Saskatchewan approval to complete construction and operate its first Disley potash facility, about 50 kilometres northwest of Regina, with first production still targeted for early 2027. The initial production module is designed to produce 125,000 tonnes a year, and an April preliminary economic assessment put its capital cost at 41.5 million Canadian dollars, including contingency.
The module is a commercial test of Buffalo’s patented horizontal line-drive method, which uses parallel horizontal wells to circulate brine saturated with sodium chloride through potash bearing rock, selectively dissolving potassium chloride and carrying it to surface for processing. Drilling and completions are finished and equipping is underway; brine circulation and installation of surface processing equipment remain before startup. Buffalo plans to sell the soluble grade output locally for agricultural use and as a drilling fluid additive.
The approval follows a September 17 determination that the module did not require an environmental impact assessment. Conditions include an approved site characterisation and groundwater monitoring plan, air quality requirements before processing equipment operates, and financial assurance acceptable to the ministry. The permit runs until April 30, with provision for extension, and covers only the initial module.
The financing question is open. Buffalo held 15.1 million Canadian dollars in cash at June 30 after a 14.85 million dollar private placement, and its August financial filing said additional financing would be needed. The company is also proceeding without a feasibility study establishing reserves, which it cautions raises the risk of technical and economic failure. Shares rose 2.6 percent to 80 Canadian cents on Friday, valuing the company at about 87.7 million Canadian dollars. The longer term plan, Disley East and Disley West at 500,000 tonnes a year each, would lift combined capacity to about 1.13 million tonnes at an assessed capital cost of 639 million dollars across all three facilities, and requires separate approvals and a feasibility study.