La Potasse

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suite de ce post du 21 avril 2024 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 7#p2389937

BHP’s Canada potash mine reaches halfway mark



23rd July 2024

Diversified mining company BHP’s Jansen potash project has reached a pivotal milestone with construction surpassing the 50% completion mark for Stage 1, with Stage 2 also under way.

The project, in Saskatchewan, is on track to see first production in 2026 and be a major global producer of potash by the end of the decade.

BHP first approved the C$7.5-billion investment in Jansen Stage 1 (JS1) in August 2021. In October 2023, the group approved a further investment of C$6.4-billion for Stage 2, bringing BHP’s total investment in Jansen to about C$14-billion. This marks the largest investment in BHP’s history, as well as the biggest private investment in Saskatchewan.

“Reaching the half-way milestone for JS1 is a testament to the dedication of our Team Jansen workforce, our contractors and procurement partners, and the local and Indigenous communities surrounding the Jansen area,” said asset president for potash Karina Gistelinck.

“Building one of the largest potash mines in the world requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, and the province has really come together to make a project of this magnitude possible. Delivering Jansen safely remains our top priority as we get ready for Jansen operations in 2026,” she added.

The journey has not been without challenges – including logistical hurdles, harsh weather and a competitive labour market – but the project remains unstoppable.
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https://www.miningweekly.com/article/bh ... 2024-07-23

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suite de ce post du 20 mai 2024 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 0#p2391340

Le projet minier de Potasse Autazes au Brésil va chercher à se financer en rentrant à la bourse de New York.
Il cherche à lever des fonds pour le projet à 2.5 milliards de dollars.

Brazil Potash plans IPO to finance $2.5bn Autazes project

Staff Writer | August 21, 2024


Autazes is expected to be the largest fertilizer mine in Latin America. (Image: Brazil Potash)

Brazil Potash, the company behind Potássio do Brasil, plans to launch an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange to fund its $2.5 billion project located in Brazil’s Amazonas state.


The company has filed a preliminary prospectus for the offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co, Banco Bradesco BBI, Freedom Capital Markets, Roth Capital Partners, and Clarksons Securities have been appointed to coordinate the IPO.

Details such as the number of shares to be offered, the amount to be raised, and the timing of the public offering have not been disclosed.

“The company’s choice to do an IPO on the US stock exchange is because this will give the company greater visibility to attract global investors to its operations, much more than if it opted to list its shares on the Brazilian stock market,” mining consultant Pedro Galdi told BNamericas.

“Furthermore, the scenarios for equity markets in the US and Brazil are pointing in opposite directions. In the US, there is an expectation of a reduction in interest rates in the coming months, which favors investment in shares, while in Brazil, where interest rates remain high, there is an expectation of new increases in interest rates in the coming months, in light of future inflationary pressures,” he said.

The Autazes project

The funds will cover additional engineering and essential tests on critical items like shaft sinking and power transmission lines, as well as necessary permits and applications for the company’s Autazes project.

Brazil Potash began construction in May on the Silvinita mine in Autazes after it received six more licences from the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute, the agency responsible for environmental licensing in the state.

The project is pegged to be the largest fertilizer mine in Latin America within the Amazon rainforest.

Production is expected to start in 2026 with an initial output sufficient to cover about 20% of Brazil’s potash needs. The project capacity will be 2.2 million tonnes of potassium chloride per year, the company estimates.

The project, which could reduce Brazilian agriculture’s 90% dependence on imported potash, has been held up for years due to opposition from indigenous Mura people, who say they have not been consulted about the use of their ancestral lands.

https://www.mining.com/brazil-potash-pl ... s-project/

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BHP sees Brazil as major potash market for new project in Canada

Reuters | September 11, 2024

Australian mining giant BHP expects Brazil to become one of the three largest markets for the major potash project it is developing in Canada, the company’s local head told Reuters on Tuesday.

Potash, along with nitrogen and phosphate, is a primary nutrient essential for food production, and Brazil is one of the world’s largest food suppliers but imports most of its fertilizer needs.

“Brazil is expected to be one of the top three markets for BHP for potash. So it’s very, very important for us,” the miner’s general manager in Brazil, Carla Wilson, said in an interview on the sidelines of a mining conference.

The first phase of BHP’s Jansen potash project in Canada is scheduled to come online in 2026 with annual production capacity of 4.2 million metric tons, following investments of $5.7 billion.

A second phase expected to double the mine’s capacity will require an additional $4.9 billion investment, according to the company.

BHP is working on building connections with potential long-term potash buyers in Brazil, said Wilson, noting that the first phase of the Canadian project is just over 50% complete.

“At this point in time, we’re just slowly starting to build our presence and starting to build those long-term relationships with customers here,” the executive said.

https://www.mining.com/web/bhp-sees-bra ... in-canada/

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BHP’s fertilizer boss bets on low-cost potash to challenge rivals

Bloomberg News | September 18, 2024

BHP Group expects its $10.6 billion potash mine in Canada to make money even with weakened fertilizer prices, says the head of the project.


Jansen mine is expected to produce potash at costs that are less than the top Canadian operations of fertilizer giants Nutrien Ltd. and Mosaic Co., according to BHP’s Karina Gistelinck. She said the massive size of the operation and BHP’s heavy investment in automation are key to keeping costs down to be more competitive than other mines in Canada, the world’s top supplier.

“The strategy is to be the most cost-effective mine possible,” she said in an interview. “Even with depressed prices, we’ll be profitable.”

BHP remains optimistic on Jansen even though potash prices have tumbled more than 60% from highs seen two years ago. Prices soared in early 2022 after sanctions on Belarus and Russia’s war in Ukraine stoked fears of supply shocks in a tight market. The two nations are among the top producers of potash and, combined with Canada, account for two-thirds of the global trade.

The world’s biggest miner had already committed $5.7 billion to building the first stage of Jansen in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan back in August 2021. Two years later, BHP earmarked an additional $4.9 billion for an expansion due to its confidence in the potash market. The spending is on top of an earlier $4.5 billion investment in the area.

Since Jansen’s approval, flows of fertilizer from Russia and Belarus have rebounded and driven down potash prices. BHP’s flagship mine is now expected to pour millions of fresh tons into a balanced market rather than one crying out for new supplies that BHP had anticipated.



Jansen is expected to deliver 4.2 million tons of potash when the first phase starts production in 2026, adding 5% to the current global potash supply, according to Gistelinck. Output is expected to double by 2031, when the project reaches full capacity.

Gistelinck said she anticipates Jansen will produce potash for less than $140 a metric ton. Market prices are expected to range from $300 a ton — in the worst-case scenario — to as high as $450 a ton in the medium to long term, she said.

BHP plans to sell the fertilizer to distributors rather than directly to farmers. The company has already secured commitments for its full potash production, which are expected to become binding contracts next year.

The Melbourne-based company is also mulling initial discounts to gain market share, Gistelinck said.

BHP is targeting Brazil — an agricultural powerhouse that’s highly dependent of fertilizer imports — as well as Southeast Asian nations and the US as major markets for selling its potash as it seeks to reduce exposure to China, she said.

Gistelinck sees demand for the crop nutrient rising 2% annually over the next two years, tracking population growth, while external factors such as the impacts of climate change could also boost consumption.

“Catastrophic events will happen more often and for longer,” she said. “And potassium helps a lot with the resilience of agricultural products.”

https://www.mining.com/web/bhps-fertili ... ge-rivals/

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suite de ce post du 6 juillet 2024 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 8#p2394428

Maroc : le projet de potasse Khemisset bloqué pour des raisons environnementales

Agence Ecofin 15 oct 2024

Pouvant livrer plus de 700 000 tonnes de potasse par an sur 19 ans, le projet Khemisset est piloté par Emmerson. En 2023, les autorités locales ont rejeté une demande de permis environnemental, nécessaire à la poursuite des activités de la compagnie qui a soumis une nouvelle demande cette année.

Au Maroc, la Commission régionale unifiée de l’investissement (CRUI) a émis un avis défavorable pour le permis environnemental du projet de potasse Khemisset. C’est l’annonce faite le 14 octobre par Emmerson, qui se retrouve donc bloquée depuis plus d’un an dans le développement d’une mine capable de livrer 782 000 tonnes de potasse par an sur 19 ans.

Si ce refus se confirme, il s’agira en effet de la deuxième fois que les autorités marocaines rejettent l’évaluation des impacts environnementaux et sociaux du projet. Lors du rejet de la première demande de permis en 2023, une commission ministérielle a notamment demandé à Emmerson de réduire significativement la consommation d’eau du projet. En juillet 2024, la société cotée à la bourse de Londres a indiqué avoir soumis une nouvelle étude intégrant notamment une réduction de 50 % de sa consommation d’eau sur le projet.

Pour le moment, Emmerson n’a pas fourni de détails sur les raisons du refus attendu, ou encore l’impact de cette décision sur ses ambitions sur le projet Khemisset. Sur la bourse de Londres, l’action Emmerson a enregistré une baisse de 70 % ce lundi 14 octobre, passant de 1,60 livre sterling à l’ouverture à 0,78 livre sterling au moment de la clôture.

En attendant d’en savoir plus sur les plans de la compagnie, rappelons que son projet Khemisset nécessite un investissement initial de 525 millions de dollars, selon une étude de faisabilité actualisée publiée en début d’année. Une mise à jour de l’estimation des ressources minérales est attendue d’ici la fin de l’année.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/potasse/15 ... nementales

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Potash supply nears pre-war levels, pushing producers to cut output

Reuters | October 23, 2024

Global potash supply is returning to levels seen before the invasion of Ukraine, as Russia and Belarus sidestep Western sanctions by increasing shipments to Asia and South America, pressuring producers to cut output and avoid oversupply.


Potash production is expected to reach 73 million metric tons this year, with Russian exports at 12-13 million tons and those from Belarus at around 10 million tons, Julia Campbell, head of the potash pricing service at commodity price agency Argus, said.

Potash prices have started to normalize following a period of volatility following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Russian exports dropped sharply after the war in Ukraine began due to financial and logistical challenges. But these problems have since eased,” Campbell said.

Increased exports from Canada, Jordan and Laos have also boosted global supply and brought down prices, adding to the fears of possible oversupply, with a slight improvement in demand expected only in 2025.

During their half-year earnings reporting, major potash producers such as Germany’s K+S sounded optimistic about growing demand and stabilizing prices.

However, analysts have since warned the abundant global supply would put a cap on pricing, dampening the companies’ earnings prospects.

“I don’t think there’s likely to be any sort of premium pricing or any real pricing benefit as a result of the global supply shift and the global trade shift. We saw that mostly in 2022 and into 2023 when prices were still moderating,” Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein told Reuters.

As such, Canada’s share of global potash trade increased significantly in 2022, while those of Belarus and Russia declined. Prices have since dropped below $300 a ton from a mid-2022 peak of $1,000, on weak demand, data from Argus showed.

“We are likely nearing the operational cost of production, which may force some companies to curb production,” Rabobank analyst Paul Joules said.

Canada’s Nutrien, the world’s top producer of the mineral mainly used in fertilizers, suspended its ramp-up plans for potash production in August, citing market conditions.

Rising shipments, growing concerns

Russian producers have increased shipments to China and India via new rail routes since Russia exited the Black Sea grain deal last year. This has boosted demand in Southeast Asia and South America, Morningstar’s Seth Goldstein said.

Belarusian exporters have shifted cargo from Baltic ports to Russian ones and are offering potash at a discount via these new routes bypassing sanctions, he added.

Meanwhile, Swiss-based Eurochem is expanding facilities at its Usolskiy and Volgakaliy sites in Russia.

“The MOP (muriate of potash, or potassium chloride) sector specifically, is already experiencing a period of very heavy supply,” said Humphrey Knight, an analyst at CRU London.

Farming the price drop
The fall in potash prices has improved affordability of some grains and oilseeds, fertilizer consultant Delphine Leconte-Demarsy from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said.

“In the US, potash remains more expensive than it was before the price hike, but this is compensated by comparatively higher crop prices,” Leconte-Demarsy said.

But she added local farmers were affected differently depending on logistical costs and exchange rates.

“In China, while potash is currently more affordable than before the price hike for wheat and maize, depressed rice markets curb potash use for this crop,” she said.

In Brazil, a major exporter of agricultural products, potash prices are back to 2019 levels, boosting its use for more highly priced crops such as soybeans and maize.

Farmers will continue to reap the benefits as the tight market is expected to keep potash prices below historical averages, Rabobank’s Joules said.

($1 = 0.9215 euros)

https://www.mining.com/web/potash-suppl ... ut-output/

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suite de ce post du 5 avril 2024 viewtopic.php?p=2389246#p2389246

Congo : l’entrée en production du projet de potasse Kola prévue en 2029

Agence Ecofin 21 nov 2024

Le projet Kola est piloté au Congo-Brazzaville par Kore Potash. Capable de livrer plus de 70 millions de tonnes de potasse sur 33 ans, le projet peut contribuer à accroitre la part du secteur minier dans l’économie nationale, actuellement à 1 %.

La compagnie minière Kore Potash a annoncé le 20 novembre la signature d’un contrat avec Power China pour la construction de la mine de potasse Kola au Congo. La mise en service est prévue au premier semestre 2029, sous réserve notamment de mobiliser 1,92 milliard $ pour financer les travaux et de respecter la durée de construction estimée à 43 mois.

Selon les estimations de Kore, son projet Kola peut livrer annuellement 2,3 millions de tonnes de muriate de potasse sur une durée de vie de 33 ans. Les travaux de construction devraient démarrer dans la seconde moitié de l’année 2025. La mise en service contribuera à changer le visage du secteur minier congolais, dont la contribution à l’économie nationale est d’environ 1 % actuellement, aussi bien en matière d’emplois que de recettes pour l’État.



Sur la durée de vie de la mine, la convention minière signée en 2017 entre le gouvernement congolais et Kore Potash, puis ratifiée en 2018 par le Parlement, prévoit en effet une participation de 10 % pour l’État et un taux d’imposition de 15 %. Ce taux n’est néanmoins pas applicable durant les cinq premières années à compter de la rentabilité du projet, et restera à 7,5 % durant les cinq années suivantes. Le gouvernement a aussi droit à une redevance de 3 % sur les revenus tirés de la production.

Rappelons que le financement du projet devrait être bouclé d’ici le second semestre 2025. Kore Potash a conclu en avril 2021 un protocole d’accord avec Summit Corporation, qui se propose de fournir un mécanisme de financement par emprunt et redevances pour la construction de la mine Kola.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/fils-indus ... ue-en-2029

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La derniére fiche de l' USGS sur la Potasse (Potash) https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs20 ... potash.pdf

Augmentation de 11 % de la production mondiale

Data in thousand metric tons of K2O equivalent



mon post de l' an dernier : viewtopic.php?p=2385772#p2385772

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suite de ce post du 19 oct 2024 viewtopic.php?p=2400636#p2400636

La pénurie d’eau au Maroc bloque un projet de potasse à 2,2 milliards de dollars

Agence Ecofin 22 avril 2025

En octobre 2024, les autorités marocaines ont émis un 2e avis défavorable pour le permis environnemental du projet Khemisset. Malgré une conception annoncée comme sobre en eau, ce gisement de potasse subit les conséquences de la pénurie historique de ressources hydriques dans le royaume.

Au Maroc, le projet minier de potasse Khemisset est aujourd’hui à l’arrêt. En mars 2025, son développeur Emmerson Plc a mobilisé des fonds afin d’engager une procédure d’arbitrage contre l’État marocain, après l’échec de plusieurs tentatives pour obtenir l’autorisation environnementale nécessaire au lancement du chantier. Au cœur du blocage : la raréfaction des ressources en eau dans un pays confronté à un stress hydrique croissant.

Initialement prévue pour 2023, la construction de la mine a été retardée après un premier refus de l’autorisation environnementale par les autorités marocaines. Emmerson a revu sa copie en 2024 et soumis une version actualisée de son étude d’impact environnemental, intégrant une réduction de 50% de la consommation d’eau et l’élimination totale des rejets de saumures. Malgré ces efforts, la Commission régionale unifiée d’investissement a maintenu son avis défavorable, estimant que le projet ne garantit pas un usage soutenable des ressources en eau.

Le Maroc, qui fait face à une sécheresse depuis quelques années, connaît en effet une réduction progressive de son approvisionnement hydrique. Entre 2019 et 2022, la Direction générale marocaine de la météorologie a enregistré les niveaux de sécheresse les plus sévères depuis les années 1960, aggravés par une faible pluviométrie en 2023. Selon la Banque mondiale, la dotation annuelle en eau pourrait tomber sous la barre de 500 m3 par personne d’ici 2030, marquant ainsi une situation de très grande pénurie.

Alors que l’incertitude subsiste sur l’avenir du projet Khemisset, son blocage montre qu’au Maroc, l’accès à la ressource hydrique devient un critère décisif dans l’instruction des projets miniers. Reste à savoir si les autorités définiront un cadre plus lisible, avec des seuils clairs de consommation d’eau. En l’absence de telles balises, d’autres projets risquent de se heurter aux mêmes incertitudes.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/actualites ... de-dollars