Australian Agrimin advancing Mackay Potash project towards final investment decision

HOUSTON (ICIS)– Producer Agrimin Limited said their Mackay Potash project in Western Australia is now advancing towards a final investment decision.

In an update on quarterly activities the company said it continues to focus on their project which is planned to be able to manufacture standard and granular sulphate of potash (SOP) products.

Current activities include efforts towards project funding and strategic partnerships, design works, environmental approvals as well as product marketing.

The Mackay project is set to undertake sustainable extraction of brine from Lake Mackay using a network of shallow trenches, which will be transferred along trenches into a series of solar evaporation ponds.

Raw potash salts will crystallize on the floor of the ponds and be collected by wet harvesters and pumped as a slurry to the processing plant that will refine harvested salts into high quality finished SOP ready for direct use by customers.

SOP volumes will be hauled by a dedicated fleet of road trains to a purpose-built storage facility at Wyndham Port. At the port it will be loaded via an integrated barge loading facility for shipment to customers.

The project’s definitive feasibility study (DFS) was completed in July 2020 and demonstrated that once in operation it could be the world’s lowest cost source of seaborne SOP. The independent technical review of the DFS was completed in April 2021.

The company has signed three binding offtake agreements with Sinochem Fertilizer Macao Limited for the supply of 150,000 tonnes/year, Nitron Group for 115,000 tonnes/year and with MacroSource for 50,000 tonnes/year.

Agrimin has already completed site-based testing for the salt harvesters, geotechnical sampling and for the sealed haul road.

Additionally, the company has worked with its proposed power contractor to refine the project’s site power station design which has resulted in a hybrid diesel, solar, wind and battery solution.

Regarding environmental clearance the company said the project is being assessed by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and during the quarter it resubmitted the environmental impact assessment response, which included revised management and monitoring plans.

It is still expected that the EPA approval will come during the second half of 2024.

Agrimin said it is also progressing other secondary approvals, licenses and agreements which included coverage for mining operations project safety and water regulations.