Saskatchewan sends resource minister to China, Australia, to talk trade

REGINA - Saskatchewan Resource Minister Bill Boyd is going on a trade mission to China.

Boyd is leaving for China on Sunday to meet with businesses and market development companies to talk about investing in potash, uranium, and oil projects.

The two-week trade mission will also include a stop in Australia.

Boyd says not only is it an exciting time to do business with China with the country’s growing economy, but Saskatchewan also happens to have something they really need.

He says China has potash-deficient soils and as a result it needs relatively large applications of potash to maintain very strong yield performances for the crops that they grow/

Uranium also has huge growth potential after Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently struck a new deal with China to buy Canadian uranium.

“I think there are 10 to 15 reactors under construction and about 25 or 30 more planned for the future, that will require a tremendous amount of uranium,” Boyd said.

Boyd has plans to meet with mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) while he is in Australia.

Both companies have committed to multimillion dollar potash mine projects in Saskatchewan and Boyd wants to get a sense of when those projects will be finished.

(CJME)