Residents in and around Esterhazy, Sask., may have felt the ground shake late Saturday night, as a magnitude 3.7 seismic event was recorded 18 kilometres north-northeast of the community.
According to Earthquakes Canada, the event occurred at 11:06 p.m. on Oct. 12 at a depth of one kilometre. It was classified as a “suspected mining event” and reported to have been lightly felt in Esterhazy.
Mosaic, which operates three potash mines in the area, confirmed the event occurred north of the company’s earliest past K3 mine workings.
“All employees were quickly accounted for, and comprehensive safety checks and inspections confirmed there were no reported findings,” Mosaic said in a statement. “Operations at Esterhazy continue as usual, with no impact on production or infrastructure.”
Power outages in the Esterhazy area over the Thanksgiving long weekend were also noted, but Mosaic clarified that the outages were caused by a recent storm and were unrelated to the seismic activity. The company added that its facilities were not affected.
Mosaic said “mining-induced seismic activity” is common in the region, and its operations are designed to account for such events. The company emphasized that Sunday’s incident registered well below the threshold for significant impact.
A similar event occurred earlier this year on Aug. 1, when a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded five kilometres northeast of Esterhazy. Mining activity was also suspected at that time.
“While the two recent events occurred far from current mining areas and present no immediate safety concerns, we continue to advance our knowledge of the geological properties of the K3 ore body and are working with external experts to review seismic activity,” Mosaic said.
According to Natural Resources Canada, another seismic event of similar size was recorded in the same area in May. That incident was later confirmed to be mining-related.