Salt Lake Potash Limited (“Salt Lake”) (ASX/AIM:SO4) is developing the Goldfields Salt Lakes Project (GSLP), which we plan to be the most sustainable, most rewarding fertiliser project in the world.
An initial 50,000tpa Demonstration Plant will provide the template for a very large scale, very long life and very economic project across a number of salt lakes, delivering premium, organic nutrients to the world’s farmers.
Salt Lake plans to produce the premium product Sulphate of Potash (SOP) from extracting hypersaline brine from salt lakes, transporting the brine in a series of solar evaporation ponds to produce potassium-rich harvest salts which can then easily be converted in SOP for the domestic and international markets.
Salt Lake’s long term plan is to develop an integrated SOP operation, producing from a number (or all) of the lakes within the GSLP, after confirming the technical and commercial elements of the Project through construction and operation of a Demonstration Plant producing up to 50,000tpa of SOP.
Salt Lake has selected the GSLP’s lakes for scale and potential brine volume, known hypersaline brine characteristics, potential for both shallow trench extraction and from deeper paleochannel aquifer bores, large playa surface for cost-effective evaporation pond construction and proximity to the important transport and energy infrastructure and engineering expertise available in the Western Australian Goldfields.
Salt Lake is progressively exploring the lakes in the portfolio with a view to estimating resources for each Lake, in parallel with the development of the Demonstration Plant. Exploration of the lakes will be prioritised based on likely transport costs, scale, permitting pathway and brine chemistry.
GSLP Locations
Williamson Pit – Lake Way
Large Surface – Lake Wells
Uses of Potash
Sulphate of Potash (SOP) is the premium source of potassium (macro-nutrient) fertiliser favoured by high value, chloride intolerant crops.
Global fertiliser demand is expected to increase significantly in the coming years due to the world population growth accompanied by decreasing arable land per capita, changes in diet and growth in income. These increases will provide an incentive for farmers to increase fertiliser use for improved yields and quality.