SASKATOON - A big dig unparalleled, 1.2 kilometers down and 10 kilometers out - throughout an alternating grid of perpendicular and parallel tunnels no more than 4 meters high by 8 meters wide - and boring through mineral deposits spanning approximately the total land territory of the Philippines, thus Team Philippines in Canada ventured into 300 million years of planetary tectonic shifts underneath Saskatchewan to rediscover first hand -- and literally unearth, the secret of the modern global sustainable agriculture and food industry, and one of its critical supply chain links - potash mining.
On the occasion of the Economic Diplomacy and Consular Mission of Team Philippines in Canada from 24 to 28 March 2013, Philippine Ambassador Leslie B. Gatan, accompanied by Philippine Consul General in Toronto Junever Mahilum-West, Minister for Economic Affairs Eric Tamayo and Labor Office Francisco Luna, probed the inner workings of a veritable potashopolis of sloping reserves, rolling winnepegosis reefs and other related seismic formations, and its connections with ensuring global food supply and agriculture and food productivity.
The tunnels are slowly closing in on themselves, the weight of millions of years and tons of potash bearing down on the caverns gouged out by massive boring machines - supported merely by 8 and 10 foot rods. The walls, floors and ceilings, when lit by the passing of specially-retrofitted vehicles, reveal the red and pink hues of the otherwise white crystalline potash meshed with traces of iron oxide.
Potash -- or potassium chloride, is one of three key nutrients essential for plant growth, the other two being nitrogen and phosphate. According to industry sources, potash is one of Canada's largest resources and a major export commodity -- and the country is experiencing a big bonanza of late as agriculture production across the globe continues to ramp up. With ten mines, Saskatchewan produces potash from reserves large enough to supply the world fertilizer demand for several hundred more years. Canada is the largest supplier of potash in the world.
The Philippines imports about 120,000 metric tons of potash from Canada, complementing the domestic phosphate industry and providing essential nutrients to support agricultural croplands producing among others sugar, rice, bananas, and corn. End
Top Photo: Ambassador Leslie Gatan (2nd from left) with (from L-R) Norma Morrow, Senior Protocol Officer, Consul General Junever Mahilum West, Minister Eric Tamayo, and Labor Attache Francisco Luna 1.2 kilometers below the surface of the Earth. Bottom Photo Left: Ambassador Gatan inspects the tunnel boring machines used to dig through the potash reserve. Bottom Photo Right: Team Philippines in Canada with a mountain of powder white pure potash as backdrop.