South Atlantic Potash (SAP) is developing what could become the world’s first offshore potash mine in northeastern Brazil, targeting a deposit that could help the agricultural powerhouse reduce its dependence on fertilizer imports.
The company is working with the state of Sergipe to advance the project in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin, a region historically known for oil and gas production.
Preliminary studies have found a 27.5 metre-long layer of sylvinite about 2.5 km deep in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin, with potential deposits exceeding 3 billion tonnes of potash, according to Brasil Mineral. SAP is targeting annual production of 2 million tonnes.
The idea behind exploring the region is to guarantee Brazil is no longer dependent on global potash supply, as 96% of its potash is imported primarily from Russia, Ukraine and Canada. Potash is vital for the production of fertilizers, an important product for Brazil as it is one of the top agriculture producers globally.
“With what we’ve seen so far, we believe the project can make the country self-sufficient for potash,” the Sergipe Development Agency (Desenvolve-SE) president, Milton Andrade, said according to Brasil Mineral.
The project remains at an early exploration stage. SAP has yet to confirm mineral resources, complete offshore drilling and engineering studies, or secure the environmental permits and financing needed to begin production.
SAP’s CEO, Bonzi Yokomizo, said that a 2-million-tonne potash production would represent about 14% of the current domestic demand, and generate between $600 million and $800 million economic gains annually.
Solution mining
Rather than excavating conventional underground mine shafts, SAP plans to use solution mining, a process that involves drilling wells and injecting water into mineral deposits to dissolve the ore.
The resulting mineral-rich brine would be pumped to the surface and transported for processing, where crystallization and refining would produce potash for Brazil’s domestic fertilizer industry.
SAP said this type of technology could help reduce environmental impacts from mining in the region, particularly the need for solid waste storage and tailings dams.
“From an environmental perspective, solution mining doesn’t generate solid waste, exempts the need for a dam and doesn’t use chemicals in the process,” Yokomizo said, according to Portal GR1.
Sodium chloride will be sold as a byproduct and the residual brine will go through a rigorous environmental control.
Oil paved the way
Decades of petroleum exploration in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin have provided SAP with geological information that could help identify offshore potash deposits.
Data coming from over 200 wells, drillings and seismic studies for oil and gas production, showed SAP that sylvinite was present in the region and there was an opportunity for potash production offshore too.
SAP marked off nine exploration targets in the Baixo Mosqueiro, the area off the coast of Sergipe. While there’s still no confirmation of the mineral reserves of these areas, they are the company’s priority for further exploration to find potash potential.
The company said it has been exploring the 189 thousand hectares since 2010 to identify the potential for potash production. If the project is approved and takes off, it will be the first of its kind for potash production.
The project is only at the beginning of its development, still needing to complete offshore drilling campaigns, a formal estimation of mineral resources, economic and engineering studies, in addition to environmental permits and financing.
Source: https://www.mining.com/oil-exploration-opens-door-to-brazil-offshore-potash/
