TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Israel-based agriculture, processed food and engineered materials markets orientated firm ICL has completed its C$137-million acquisition of Canadian explorer Allana Potash.

The closing on Monday followed approval by Allana's security holders and Ontario's Supreme Court of Justice of ICL's offer for 83.78% of Allana's outstanding shares that it did not already own. In 2014, ICL acquired 16.22% of Allana for C$25-million.

Allana held a concession to mine potash at the Danakhil mine, in Ethiopia's Afar National Regional state, as well as the knowledge that had been accumulated in recent years. The project was estimated to yield up to one-million tonnes of muriate of potash (MOP) a year for 25 years, based on a feasibility study conducted by Allana and completed in February 2013.

ICL said owning Allana would enable it to accelerate the development of the Danakhil mining project and it would now start a process to assess the technical and operational feasibility of the project, including logistics, infrastructure and production needs, the optimal process for developing the Danakhil deposit, increasing the potential of the concession area and securing project financing.

ICL was considering expanding the scope of the project's production capacity and evaluating the possibility of producing sulphate of phosphate as well as MOP.

According to ICL, the Ethiopian government recognised the long-term infrastructure, agricultural and economic benefits that would result from developing a large-scale mining operation in the country, including its contribution to the country's overall gross domestic product, foreign currency inflow and tax base, and, specifically, the creation of direct and indirect employment in the Afar region.

During the past year, ICL had deepened its efforts to create a market for potash in Africa, mainly by sponsoring a potash awareness programme – Potash for Growth - in conjunction with Ethiopia's Ministry of Agriculture and its Agriculture Transformation Agency. The programme included creating hundreds of potash demonstration plots in Ethiopia.