HIGHFIELD RESOURCES has signed an updated non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Port Authority of Pasajes, as part of the its transport and logistics strategy for the sale of muriate of potash and salt from the company’s Muga potash mine. Under the MoU, the Port confirms the availability of sufficient port capacity for up to 700 000 tpy of muriate of potash and salt. Pasajes will facilitate the implementation of the requisite logistics infrastructure and services at port to attend to needs of the mineral exploration and development company, based in Navarre, Spain. The Port also commits to have all facilities for product handling and shipping operational from Muga’s Phase 1. The Port of Pasajes, located under 150 km north, by road, of the Muga mine, is the closest port to the mine site, and is one of the largest commercial ports in the region. With excellent road and rail connections, it currently handles around 3 million tpy of dry bulk product.
KALIUM LAKES, a minerals company focused on developing its 100%-owned Beyondie Sulphate of Potash (SOP) Project, has said that it is still targeting first production of SOP from this project in Western Australia in late September 2021. More than 113 000 t of contained SOP had been pumped as at end July 2021. More than 90 000 t of potassium salt that meets the plant feed cut-off grade has been harvested and delivered to the ROM stockpile. Harvesting operations and potassium salt stockpiling are ongoing, with several other ponds ready and available for harvest. The potassium salt, both harvested and ready for harvest, accounts for approximately the first six months of SOP production during the ramp-up period. The majority of areas of the SOP purification plant are now at or near the dry commissioning stage, with the bulk of the remaining works associated with insulation, electrical, instrumentation and controls. Construction of the granular SOP production facilities and storage shed continues according to plan.
BELARUSKALI OAO, Belarus’ state-owned company and one of the largest producers of potash fertilizers in the world, has been hit by US sanctions. Now potash buyers fretting over these sanctions on Belaruskali, which controls about a fifth of the global market for the crop nutrient, have been told they might not need to panic right away. The penalties announced on Monday (9 August) target Belaruskali, which ships much of its products to China, India and Latin America, along with more than a dozen companies with ties to President Alexander Lukashenko. Yet Belarusian Potash Co., in which Belaruskali owns a 48% stake and which is the sole handler all of the country’s potash exports, wasn’t included in the sanctions list. While some buyers may turn to other suppliers following the sanctions, China and India might still feel it’s safe to purchase from BPC, the company that signs export deals, according to VTB Capital. The US issued licenses allowing counterparts to wind down transactions with Belaruskali — or any entity in which it owns at least a 50% interest — by 8 December, giving consumers time to find alternative supplies. Potash is one of Belarus’s key exports and its only abundant mineral resource.
