People in Sussex hopeful about future as potash mine is closed permanently

Ann Ophaug moved to Sussex in 2004, and a year later, she and her husband,Erling, opened their shop, the Soap Works, in the downtown.

Ophaug remembers when 430 jobs were lost when Nutrien, then known as PotashCorp, put the Picadilly mine on care and maintenance in early 2016.

"I think initially it was quite a shock, and I think there was the feeling that maybe this was going to be a complete disaster for the town," Ophaug said Tuesday.

"But I think once the dust settled, overall, things have ticked along quite nicely and people have found out that it wasn't the end of the world. I know for some people it depended on what your role was, but generally I think the town's coped very well with it."

She was speaking after news this week that the operation will beclosed completely, a move that will affect the34 remaining employees.

"I think we kind of hoped that once economics turned around a little bit and maybe things would pick back up again,"Ophaugsaid. "So it's sad to hear that, but I think at the end of the day, we are where we are now, so that extra news is not going to be such a huge effect on the town."

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Will Tigley,a spokesperson for Nutrien, said the decision was based on lower production costs at sites in Saskatchewan and how much it would cost to bring the New Brunswick mine back online.

He said no employees will be laid off immediately.

"There's still a little work to do around the closure, so we will make sure we are working with those employees to retain them in order to finish up what we need to do with the site as we get closer to the closure," Tigley said.

"Other than that, there are some opportunities that we can move them around to some of our other facilities if the employees do choose to, and that is all part of how we will work with them."

• Nutrien permanently closes New Brunswick potash facility

A permanent closure wasn't the news some people hoped to hear, saidPaul Bedford, president of the Sussex and District Chamber of Commerce.

"With the final closure, you know, it's definitely, it's a shock, there's no doubt there," Bedford said. "But I think everybody had it in the back of their mind that this isn't an overnight fix and will it ever open again or will it not?

"We all hoped that the potash prices came back. We hoped with the merger of the two companies to form Nutrien that maybe things would change, but it didn't. So is it a kick? Yes. Will it keep us down? Most definitely not."

Sussex isn't just a mining town, and the chamber has been looking at ways to diversify the economy, he said. Options to consider include expanding existing businesses, farming and solar farms.

"Sussex is a tough town. They're resilient and you know what? They're going to keep marching forward. Every month you're hearing of a new small business opening up here in town, so I'm proud to say that I live in Sussex and we need to keep things going."

Meanwhile, the Conservative MLA for Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins, Bruce Northrup, hasn't given up onpotash.

"Last night was not a fun night for sure, to be told the mine was going to be shut down in the next two years, but we carry on today," said Northrup, whose party is about to take the reins of the provincial government.

"And we have a lot of work to do as a new government to see if why the lower operating and capital costs in Saskatchewan if we can do that here in the province of New Brunswick."

He said the province could either keep talking to Nutrien or look for someone else to develop local resources, including natural gas.

Whatever happens, Ophaug said, she's glad she opened her business in Sussex and she's optimistic about the future.

"I've got great confidence in the people of Sussex. We can deal with anything."