The first phase of BHP’s Jansen potash project in Saskatchewan will cost up to 30 per cent more than initially planned and be delayed by a year, the company said on July 18.  

Initial production from Jansen’s Phase 1 will be postponed to mid-2027 from its original late 2026 target, and BHP has increased the estimated capital expenditure from US$5.7 billion to between US$7 billion and US$7.4 billion. 

“The estimated cost increase is driven by inflationary and real cost escalation pressures, design development and scope changes, and our current assessment of lower productivity outcomes over the construction period,” BHP said in its operational review for the year ending June 30, which was released on July 18. 

The construction of Jansen’s Phase 1 is now 68 per cent complete, and Phase 2 is 11 per cent complete. BHP reached the halfway mark for Phase 1 construction in July 2024. 

The company said it is considering delaying the first production from Jansen’s Phase 2 by two years from 2029 to 2031 as part of its regular review of capital expenditure plans, citing the possibility of increased potash supply entering the market in the medium term as the reason.  

In 2023, BHP approved a US$4.9 billion investment for Phase 2 but has spent just US$400 million to date.  

In its latest operational review, the company reported producing more than two million tonnes of copper across its operations in fiscal year 2025, a company record, along with 263 million tonnes of iron ore from its operations in Western Australia.