SUSSEX, N.B. -- The New Brunswick government says it has signed a two-year agreement for road salt that will help save operations at a mine in Sussex.
The province says the deal with the Nutrien mine will support 50 mining jobs and generate economic spinoffs in the area.
The mine currently employs 34 workers to maintain the facility, and that workforce will increase to 50 under the supply agreement.
Decommissioning of Nutrien's potash operations will continue as planned.
For the past two years, the province says it has bought road salt from Nova Scotia and Quebec.
It says the agreement is not expected to affect the price paid by the province.
"This agreement demonstrates how serious we are about supporting regional resource development," Energy and Resource Minister Mike Holland said in a statement.
"It is important to the economy of New Brunswick that we put our own resources to good use by accessing an operation that is already in place."
The province says it purchases an average of about 180,000 tonnes of road salt per year.
