JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Potash developer Danakali has signed several nonbinding memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with potential offtakers for the supply of 200 000 t/y potassium magnesium sulphate (SOP-M), which represents the second premium, choride-free multinutrient potash type from Danakali’s Colluli resource, currently trading at $450/t.
Based in Eritrea, the Colluli resource is one of the closest potash deposits to a coastline globally and is the shallowest known evaporate deposit in the world.
Danakali MD Paul Donaldson said he was pleased with the high level of interest in the company’s suite of fertiliser products generated from the Colluli resource’s potassium salt suite.
“The signed MoUs and negotiations under way . . . highlight that soluble, chloride-free, multinutrient potash types are in high global demand. This is particularly relevant as the focus on fertiliser and water efficiency improvements continues.”
Donaldson added that Danakali’s ability to supply product samples generated using the process design and Colluli salts had been advantageous in market engagement activities. “SOP-M is quite simple to produce utilising the processing design developed for the Colluli definitive feasibility study,” he said.
Danakali explained that the price premium of SOP-M over potassium chloride is because it is chloride-free, contains three key macronutrients (potassium, magnesium and sulphur) and is highly soluble.
These properties make SOP-M suitable for magnesium-deficient soils, which are commonly found in India, the Middle East, and South-East Asia.