German potash producer K+S and Pacific Coast Terminals (PCT) have inaugurated their new joint potash handling and storage facility in Port Moody, one of the ports of Vancouver, Canada. Following the start-up of its new potash plant at Bethune in Saskatchewan in June of this year, the company said this represents a “further important milestone” in its plans for North American operations.

The state-of-the-art loading facility, located at the PCT site in the port of Vancouver, is described by the jv partners as “the most modern in the world,” and it will play an important role in the success of the K+S potash activities in the North American country, said CEO Burkhard Lohr.

Features of the site includes an unloading station for freight cars, 1,260 meters of conveyor belts as well as a 263-meter-long shed sufficient to store 160,000 tonnes of potash products. Freight trains carrying loads of 18,000 tonnes can be unloaded and ships with a capacity of 70,000 tonnes can be loaded at the facility’s quay.

Potash produced at the new K+S Bethune plant will be shipped to the new port facility in the west of Canada in freight trains up to 3 km in length. From there the product will be unloaded, stored and loaded onto ships for shipment to customers, primarily in South America and Asia.