The K + S Potash company has officially broken ground on the first new Saskatchewan potash mine in 40 years.

The K+S group held a ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday at the Legacy mine project near Bethune, about 60 kilometres northwest of Regina.

Norbert Steiner with the company says the site north of Buffalo Pound Lake was the best option for boosting its stake in the potash industry.

The $3.25-billion project run by the German-owned fertilzer company, is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs during peak construction and employ 300 people when the operation hits full production.

Energy, Resources, Tourism and Trade minister Tim McMillan is thrilled to see things progress.

"It's far too rare we have announcements of this size and this magnitude with the kind of optimism (and) number of people who want to be involved," said McMillan.

Production from the Legacy mine is expected to begin in 2015 and ramp up over the next few years.

Edited by News Talk Radio staff with files from Canadian Press and 800 CHAB