REGINA — News that BHP Group Ltd. has pushed back completion of Stage 2 of the Jansen mine project to 2031 has been greeted with dismay by the opposition New Democrats.
Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon held an emergency news conference Tuesday afternoon at the Legislature where he expressed disappointment over the news that the mine project, located 140 km east of Saskatoon, is being delayed.
“The company has now confirmed to shareholders and also in an article in allSaskatchewan published this morning, that stage two of the project will be delayed two years to 2031.
“This project is key to Saskatchewan’s economic future, it’s a great project. We want to see it online as soon as possible. When fully completed it’s expected to create 600 to 900 full-time jobs — really a legacy project for the region and for the province. A major boost to our province, and we want to see it succeed and we want to see these good mortgage paying jobs for Saskatchewan people for generations.
“Unfortunately, though, this isn’t the first major project to take a hit under the Sask. Party and Premier Moe.”
Wotherspoon pointed to the Federated Co-operatives renewable diesel facility project and canola crushing project with AGT that was put on hold, and Viterra’s canola crush plant project, described as in limbo.
“Premier Scott Moe has a lot to answer for on these fronts,” said Wotherspoon. He said Moe needed to be straight with Saskatchewan people and answer for “the string of bad economic news” and economic losses.
Moe is scheduled to be in Yorkton for an announcement Wednesday. As for what is driving the delays, Wotherspoon said this was an important question for Moe in Yorkton.
“We have a Premier that all too often has been there to make good new announcements or cut a ribbon, but then has walked away and has been in hiding when they’ve been delayed.”
As for addressing the situation, Wotherspoon said the province needed to “do all we can to create an environment to secure investment, to secure these projects and many others and in many other parts of our economy.”
One way was to reduce costs and ensure the province had a competitive advantage, said Wotherspoon. He pointed to the PST on construction labour as putting the province at a competitive disadvantage and dragging on the economy.
“What the Sask. Party did when they imposed the PST onto construction labour is they really gave our economy a gut punch when it comes to growth. They have stuck Saskatchewan people with the lowest performing economy under Premier Moe and we haven’t seen the kind of projects move forward and jobs created that people deserve.”
BHP confirmed delay in annual report
News of the latest Jansen delay was confirmed in BHP’s annual report released Tuesday, which stated the company had “decided to extend the execution of JS2 by two years, shifting first production from FY2029 to FY2031, as part of our regular review of capex sequencing under the Capital Allocation Framework.”
“JS2’s capital expenditure remains under review and we expect to update the market on JS2’s optimized capital expenditure estimate in the second half of FY2026. Jansen is a world-class asset and is expected to have operating costs at the low end of the cost curve when fully ramped up.”
This follows a recent announcement that Jansen Stage 1 production was being delayed a year, to mid-2027.
Mike Henry, CEO of BHP, gave this explanation in the annual report:
“On Jansen Stage 1, a combination of inflation and cost escalation, design development and scope changes, and lower productivity on certain aspects of the project have resulted in a revision of our costs for construction. This is disappointing. It is not representative of the performance we have seen on BHP projects more broadly, nor what we aspire to.
“We’re taking steps to improve performance on Jansen Stage 1 and we’ll be applying what we learn to strengthen project delivery across the board at BHP.”
Government response
In a statement, the Sask. Party government dismissed the latest NDP criticism.
“The lost and reckless NDP continue to demonstrate how they would drive jobs and investment away from Saskatchewan if they were in government today,” they stated.
“BHP has reaffirmed their commitment to building the largest potash mine in the world, right here in Saskatchewan, something that never would have happened under the NDP who oppose the mining sector completely.
The province thanked BHP “for their ongoing commitment and investment in Jansen and surrounding communities, which will bring benefits to all of Saskatchewan.”
The government also said PST revenues “help fund services in health care, education and social services, as well as programs such as municipal revenue sharing and infrastructure investments that communities rely on. Our government is always looking for ways to stimulate the economy and encourage growth, another critical component in providing these important services and supporting Saskatchewan residents in need. We will take no financial advice from the same NDP that mixed up revenues and expenses in their election platform.”
