Agrium potash mine remains closed, injured worker in critical condition

A man remains in critical condition at a Saskatoon hospital after a workplace accident at the Agrium mine in Vanscoy, Sask., Monday morning.

At around 2:45 a.m. CST on Aug. 8, emergency services were called out to the potash mine near Vanscoy, about 30 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon. A worker was taken to Saskatoon where he remains in hospital in critical condition.

• Agrium worker seriously injured underground at Vanscoy, Sask., potash mine

The mine was closed for the rest of the day on Monday and Todd Steen with Agrium said it's likely the mine won't resume regular operations until Wednesday or later.

"It could be as soon as tonight if not tomorrow or shortly after, but in the near future," Steen said. "We're not in a rush, we're going to make sure we take care of our people first."

While the mine hasn't started up again, Steen said workers have been showing up throughout the day and they've been having discussions around safety at the mine. Counsellors were made available to workers throughout the day on Tuesday.

Steen said he visited the injured worker today in Saskatoon, adding he's still in critical condition.

"We've been in touch with the family and we're trying to support them in any way we can," he said. "They have a positive attitude, but he's still in very serious condition."

Provincial officials were on site Monday initiating an investigation into the incident. Steen said it will be days until they can figure out what happened underground at the mine leading to the worker's injury.

"Out of respect for our worker injured, it's a normal operational time for us and we wouldn't hesitate to do this again in the future. It's what we need to do," Steen said.