Rod McEachern

The presentation will start with an introduction to the Kingdom of Jordan, Arab Potash Company, and the resources associated with the Dead Sea. The discussion will then follow the processing for production of potash, which includes: solar ponds, harvesting carnallite, the Hot Leach Process (HLP), the Cold Crystallization Process (CCP) as well as transportation and distribution. This will be followed with a discussion on the Safety system and culture within the organization, and efforts taken to improve performance. Finally, the presentation will conclude with a brief discussion about the challenges of managing a plant in a different country and culture.

Biography:

Rod McEachern graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with an M.Sc. (Computational Chemistry) in 1987 and with a Ph.D. (Physical Chemistry) in 1993. He had a six-year tenure with Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) as a Research Scientist, working on environmental aspects of the safe storage of used nuclear fuel. The remainder of his career has been spent in the mining industry, working for Inco Metals, Cameco and Nutrien. His 30+ year career with Nutrien started in 1980 in the Technical Services pilot plant, and has evolved over the years to encompass a blend of technical and production roles including: Technician, Chemist, First-line Supervisor, Production Superintendent, Director of R&D and General Manager. He spent four years seconded to Arab Potash Company (APC) in Amman, Jordan, where he assumed the role of Vice-President, Operations. Rod currently works with Nutrien in the Saskatoon office as the Director of Process and Product Innovation.