Where it comes from
The potash deposits tucked more than a kilometre beneath Saskatchewan were formed after an inland sea evaporated some 400 million years ago. It was a busy time - fish were making their way onto land and plants were taking advantage of stable soil to sow seeds for the first time. As the sea dissolved, it left behind a layer of common salts. There are three major layers of recoverable potash ore across the province, running in a 280-kilometre-long band called the Prairie Formation.
Origin of the name
Potash got its name from a primitive, yet popular, European method of making fertilizer. Wood ashes would be added to water in a pot and left to boil. The result is a potassium-rich residue, called "pot ash."
What it looks like
From the Saskatchewan Western Development Museum: "In the ground, potash ore looks like a mixture of red and white crystals with traces of clay and other impurities. It is a soft, crumbly mineral, and it has a silvery look when freshly exposed. After processing, it is white in its pure form. Some impurities give it a pink colour."
What it's used in
Although 95 per cent of the world's production is used as fertilizer, it also appears in other industrial and commercial products. Caustic potash (created by sending an electrical charge through the material) can be used to manufacture soap, detergent, glass, textiles, alkaline batteries and ceramics. White potash (also called soluble potash) can be used as a salt substitute in low-sodium diets.
In Saskatchewan
Potash was first found in the province in 1943, according to the Western Development Museum, as prospectors were searching for oil deposits. The sample, just outside Regina, was about two km below the surface, considered too deep for extraction. In 1951, the first mine tried to open but flooding made it impossible. Provincial mining experts worked on novel ways to keep sand and water out of the mines, and the first successful mine began operating in 1962.
In Eastern Canada
New Brunswick has several operating potash mines, though on a much smaller scale than in Saskatchewan. Geologists first suspected potash could be found as early as 1840, according to the New Brunswick government, but it wasn't until the 1970s that its presence was confirmed. Potash Corp. now pulls about 6 per cent of its production from New Brunswick. A provincial report credits Potash Corp. for adding $40-million to the regional economy through the purchase of goods, materials and services in New Brunswick each year.