Canadian company now allows for cleaner way to produce potash

A Canadian company has developed a new, more environmentally friendly mechanism for producing potash that does not produce residual salt and does not require aboveground brine ponds. According to Saskatoon-based Gensource Potash (TSX-V: GSP), the lack of tailings eliminates the risk of decommissioning, while the absence of ponds eliminates the greatest negative impact conventional potash mining has on the environment. In the extraction process developed by Gensource, hot brine (NaCl) is injected into horizontal caverns in the ore body, which selectively dissolves potash (KCl) and leaves the salt in place. The KCI-rich brine is then processed (KCI "precipitates" through cooling crystallization) and the NaCl brine is reheated and returned to the cavern to repeat the process. The process is carried out by a number of independent production facilities that are 1/10 the size of a traditional potash project and can produce between 250,000-300,000 t / year of the fertilizer. The modules to be installed on the Tugaske project, which is located in the company's Vanguard area in central southern Saskatchewan, are said to use 75% less water per ton of potash than traditional solution mining methods. They are also able to use brackish water sources, which further reduces fresh water consumption. Gensource has also reported that the electricity in Tugaske is generated using natural gas rather than coal itself, avoiding up to 24,500 tons of CO2e emissions per year. The Tugaske Greenfield Project recently received development approval from the Huron rural community where it is located. However, the Saskatchewan Environment Department ruled in 2018 that the project should be considered "no development" because its "green" properties mean it does not trigger an environmental impact assessment. Gensource Potash is currently waiting for its main lenders, KfW and Société Général, to approve the financing. The company is also awaiting approval of the project financing from Euler Hermes. After starting business, Gensource Potash has committed to sell 100% of the annual production of Tugaske to Helm Fertilizers, a US-based subsidiary of Helm AG, for at least the next 10 years, who will use their own infrastructure to sell them directly to their customers will market.