Name of the Project
Khemisset potash project.

Location
The project is located in northern Morocco.

Project Owner/s
Emmerson PLC.

Project Description
A feasibility study has confirmed the project as a world-class, low capital cost, high-margin potash mine.

The feasibility study is based on 43% of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant mineral resource estimate of 537-million tonnes at an average grade of 9.24% potassium oxide, delivering an initial mine life of 19 years.

The feasibility study is estimated to produce about six-million tonnes a year of run-of-mine ore to produce muriate of potash (MoP) at steady-state production of about 735 000 t/y, and de-icing salt at one-million tonnes a year. Peak production is estimated at 810 000 t/y of K60 MoP and one-million tonnes a year of de-icing salt.

The mine is proposed to be accessed through twin declines from the surface, which will allow for ore to be extracted using a conventional room-and-pillar mining methodology using continuous miners. Ore will be processed using hot leaching and cold crystallisation to produce the generic K60 MoP product, which is standard in the industry.

The feasibility study assumes that all MoP and salt product will be exported through the Port of Casablanca using trucks from the mine site, to be sold in Emmerson’s target markets in the Atlantic corridor.

Significant potential remains to increase the mine life by including additional resources, notably in the south-west of the project area, and through further exploration work.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% nominal discount rate, of $1.4-billion and an internal rate of return of 38.5%, with a 2.6-year payback.

Capital Expenditure
The capital cost of the project, including a $45.5-million contingency, is estimated at $387-million.

About $24-million, including contingency, has been allocated to a salt plant designed to produce de-icing specification salt.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Emmerson plans to shift its focus towards the vital workstreams required to progress the project to construction and, eventually, production.

These include permitting, financing, operational capability build-out and front-end engineering design, before finally advancing to detailed design and engineering ready for the start of construction.

In addition, Emmerson will re-examine the potential of the various growth and expansion options available to it, including the sulphate of potash (SoP) project, de-icing salt expansion potential and extending the life of the Khemisset potash mine.

The SoP project has the potential to take the combined post-tax NPVs for the company's suite of projects to more than $1.8-billion, based on the scoping study.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Golder Associates (feasibility study), including Moroccan Salts (consultant and resource geologists) Global Potash Solutions and Barr Associates (processing design); and DeltaBEC (project infrastructure).

Contact Details for Project Information
Emmerson PLC, tel +44 207 236 1177.