CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING
NEWS VOLUME
40,
NUMBER
25
The Chemical W o r l d This Week
DEEP DOWN. T. M. Ware (center), IMC president, went down in the shaft at Esterhazy, Sask., for an inspection just before
JUNE 18, 1962
miners reached potash pay dirt 3132 feet below the surface. IMC has spent about $40 million on the Canadian project
Canadian Potash Heads for Market Miners get through to rich deposits of IMC in Saskatchewan, foreshadowing a doubling of North American potash capacity International Minerals & Chemical has finally struck the rich potash deposits of Saskatchewan, after a five-year drilling struggle. First ore from the deposit is now going through IMC's refinery at Esterhazy, Sask., for test processing. By Sept. 1, the mill will be able to turn out potash at a rate of 1 million tons per year; early next year it will reach its rated capacity of 1.2 million tons. For the long and costly (ultimately $40 million) project, the red letter day was June 8, when IMC shaft sinkers intersected the seam at 3132 feet. This good potash news from Canada helps offset the bad potash news from New Mexico. There, five producers
are beset by a strike which may be lengthy (C&EN, June 11, page 17). Esterhazy also foreshadows start-up for several other potash projects which will more than double North American potash capacity within a few years. Although growing, North American potash consumption certainly won't match these increases for some time. But no one seems concerned. Potash markets aren't confined to one continent and, world-wide, the picture looks rosy. Last year, world production and consumption were in nice harmony, at 10.5 million tons each. Propelled by world population increases and the inevitable need for more food, potash demand should con-
tinue to grow at 5 to 6% annually for quite some time and catch up with expected supply by 1967 or 1968. TGS Project. Texas Gulf Sulphur also has a project in the 1 million-ton class. Its first potash venture, at Moab, Utah, should be supplying material for the spring 1963 fertilizer season. It will begin by operating with one of two surface units. When both are going full tilt, probably late next year, TGS will be able to produce more than 1.1 million tons of potash per year. The shaft is designed so that TGS can increase capacity 50% by adding a third surface unit. In the Carlsbad, N.M., area Southwest Potash has expanded its capacity MJNE
18, 196 2 C & E N
31
UTAH DEPOSITS. At Moab, Utah, Texas Gulf Sulphur is completing a potash mine and processing plant. Headframe (left) is 20 stories high, covers shaft that will be 2800 feet deep. Project is scheduled for January start-up
from 270,000 tons to 420,000 tons. Potash Co. of America also has a $5 million modernization program in the works at Carlsbad, converting from the old soap flotation process to one which uses amines. PCA is busy in Canada, too. At Patience Lake, Sask., it is repairing the mine shaft it completed in 1958. PCA mined some potash there, but water leaks through the concrete shaft-lining forced it to quit by mid1959. After repairs are complete, PCA may not begin to work the property. Industry observers believe PCA will watch the fortunes of IMC's Canadian venture before it decides. No less than 14 companies, includ-
ing most of the major U.S. potash producers, are poking around Saskatchewan. Most of them are trying to figure out how to conquer the Blairmore formation and whether or not to spend vast sums to do it. Fresh Interest in Carlsbad. Also at Carlsbad, Kermac Potash, a joint venture of Kerr-McGee Oil Industries and National Farmers Union Service Corp., intends to begin a potash operation. However, a process is still being pilotplanted at Kerr-McGee's research lab in Golden, Colo., and no contractor has yet been selected. Behind the feverish search for more potash is the growth potential of the potash market. In addition, the high
North American Potash Producers Plan to Double Capacity Capacity, 1000 tons K20 PRESENT PLANNED
225
American Potash & Chemical
Trona, Calif.
Bonneville, Ltd.
Wendover, Utah
Duval Sulphur & Potash
Carlsbad, N.M.
275
International Minerals & Chemical
Carlsbad, N.M. Esterhazy, Sask.
445
National Potash
Carlsbad, N.M.
280
Potash Co. of America
Carlsbad, N.M. Patience Lake, Sask.
600
Southwest Potash
Carlsbad, N.M.
270
Texas Gulf Sulphur
Moab, Utah
U.S. Borax & Chemical
Carlsbad, N.M.
TOTAL
C&EN
1200
300 150 1100
560
20
Other
32
50
2725
JUNE
18, 196 2
2750
grade deposits ( 2 5 % K 2 0 ) at Carlsbad are rapidly being depleted. Carlsbad's lower-grade potash, about 18% K 2 0, will last for some time but will yield less material and cost more to work. Carlsbad now accounts for over 90% of U.S. potash production. One of the Richest. Canada's oil and gas industry turned up first indications of mineable potash in Saskatchewan. One of the world's largest deposits, it runs diagonally across the province in a band 450 miles long and 50 miles wide. It contains an estimated 6.4 billion tons (as K 2 0 ) . But, between the potash ore and the surface lies the Blairmore formation, a 200-foot band of clay, shale, and sands, saturated with water. The sandy mass exerts water pressures of 475 p.s.i., a major obstacle to shaft-sinking. Still, the rich deposits, averaging at least 25 to 30%, lured potash companies. Continental Potash, Ltd., tested a brining method as early as 1951 near Unity, Sask., and obtained some potash, but the method cost too much and a shaft was started in 1953. IMC started sinking its shaft in 1957, tried to stabilize the Blairmore by grouting (pumping cement into the shaft to seal it), but that didn't work. In 1960, IMC hired Associated Mining Construction Co., an amalgamation of four German firms. The plan of attack was to freeze the Blairmore, dig through it, and install a permanent cast-iron shaft lining. In Utah, TGS doesn't face problems like the Blairmore. However, items like a 36-mile railroad spur and a 7000-foot tunnel helped boost the cost to more than $30 million. Over 90% of the potash is used in agriculture. The remainder goes into chemicals. Of the farm-bound potash, close to 90% finds its way into mixed fertilizers. It will benefit from increasing use of fertilizer and from the trend toward higher-analysis fertilizer. In 1950, the average K 2 0 content of commercial fertilizer was 6%; today it is reaching for 9%. Last year production of marketable potassium salts in the U.S. rose 4% to 2.7 million tons ( K 2 0 ) , while sales dropped 4 % . Exports (475,000 tons) were also off. But potash executives see use going up again this year. U.S. exports may drop in the next few years. But the drop will make little difference in producers' pocketbooks; Canadian potash will be taking up the slack, and that is controlled by U.S. firms.
