Mining tremor felt near Esterhazy, Sask., potash mine

A 3.4-magnitude tremor shook an area northeast of Esterhazy, Sask., on Tuesday morning and is suspected to have been caused by mining, Earthquakes Canada said.

The federal agency’s recent earthquakes listing shows the event at 7:04 a.m. local time on Nov. 3, classed as a “suspected mining-induced event.” Earthquakes Canada said the shaking began about one kilometre underground. Esterhazy is about 230 kilometres east of Regina.

Mosaic Canada confirmed that seismic activity was felt near its potash operation just outside the town. In an emailed statement reported by Global News, the company said the event happened in a mined-out area of the older workings of its K3 Mine.

Mosaic said all of its roughly 1,200 employees in Esterhazy have been accounted for and operations are continuing as normal. The company said no safety concerns remain.

“Mining induced seismic activity in this area is common, and our facilities are engineered with seismic loading in mind,” Mosaic said. The company added that it will work with outside experts to review the seismic activity and continues to study the geology of the K3 ore body.

Earthquakes Canada had received reports from 22 people who felt the tremor at the time Global News published its story. The agency said it had reviewed the details but they were not yet final, so the magnitude and the number of felt reports could change.

Potash is a major Saskatchewan export, and the province’s mines have featured in our coverage of the wholesale sales numbers from Statistics Canada. Saskatchewan politics has also been busy, with Premier Scott Moe facing questions on affordability when the legislature resumed.

Mosaic said operations at Esterhazy are continuing as normal, and the company has not announced any change to production.

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