Emmerson, a UK-based company, has said it is shifting focus to moving the Khemisset sulfate of potash project in Northern Morocco towards ‘shovel ready’ status, including operational capability build-out, front-end engineering and design (FEED), detailed design and financing. The announcement comes following the recent release of a feasibility study for the project. Emmerson has said the permitting process is well underway, including stakeholder engagement, socio-economic impact assessments and the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA).
The feasibility study, which confirmed a post-tax NPV8 of US$1.4 billion and robust financials including over US$300 million per annum in EBITDA, provides the catalyst for engagement with various potential financing groups to commence detailed due diligence. The detailed examination of various complementary growth options that is currently are taking place includes the development of a scope of work for a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the project, which could take the combined post-tax NPVs for the company’s suite of projects to over US$1.8 billion; technical and market impact of upscaled production of the salt by-product in the first five years of operations at Khemisset; vast remaining resources at Khemisset to be brought into the mine plan by extending the overall mine life or offering the option of increasing production in the first five years of operations.
“We are pleased with the results of the feasibility study, but now our attention must turn to the next phase of development as we seek to move the project one step further towards our goal of becoming an independent potash producer, Hayden Locke, Emmerson’s CEO, commented.“Despite the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, we continue to make progress with our ESIA, which is one of the key workstreams required to be completed prior to our application for a mining permit at Khemisset. Our objective is to have it ready for final submission to the government authorities by the end of 3Q20, in line with our original schedule. … Financing will continue to be a focus for Emmerson. The feasibility study is the catalyst for various discussions, across debt, equity and non-traditional financing products, to commence in earnest. Over the last two years, we have engaged with numerous potential funding partners and have identified several which we believe would make excellent partners for the company in the development of Khemisset. We look forward to updating the market as these discussions progress.“
