The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. incorporates waste management and environment controls in each mine and refinery. The operation of these as well as waste management area meets with the requirements of all Federal and Provincial Acts and Regulations. An annual license or approval to operate is received from Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management. The plant incorporates the latest practices in the potash industry to minimize its effect on the external environment. Dryer exhaust gases are scrubbed in wet impingement type scrubbers operated with water and reclaim brine as a scrubbing liquid. Approximately sixty per cent of the ore brought to the surface is NaCl (common table salt) and insoluble clays. These tailings are slurried in recycled brine and pumped to a waste management area for storage. The waste management area consists of diked areas for solids and brines, a pumping system, a brine injection well, and a series of piezometer wells, which are used to monitor ground water.

The Future: How Much is Left? The potash reserves in Saskatchewan are massive. By conservative estimates, Saskatchewan could supply world demand at current levels for several hundred years.