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The Potash Story

The Potash Story. What is Potash?. An essential element for plant growth along with nitrogen and phosphates Helps plants use water and resist drought Belle Plaine mines potassium chloride, KCl Solution mining yields pure white potash product

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The Potash Story

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  1. The Potash Story What is Potash? • An essential element for plant growth along with nitrogen and phosphates • Helps plants use water and resist drought • Belle Plaine mines potassium chloride, KCl • Solution mining yields pure white potash product • 93% of potash produced world-wide is used as fertilizer • Only 3% of the Earth’s surface is arable farmland 1

  2. Potash Formation in Saskatchewan Saskatoon Belle Plaine Esterhazy Saskatchewan Manitoba Patience Lake Member…PLM Belle Plaine Member……BPM White Bear Member…….WBM Esterhazy Member………EM 2

  3. Potash Mines in Saskatchewan 3

  4. Grades of Potash Text Only Slide Title • Bullet 1 • Bullet 2 • Bullet 3 • Bullet 4 • Sub bullet • Sub bullet • Bullet 5 Do we still make all these grades?? 4

  5. Text Only Slide Title Solution Mining Why Solution Mining? • Bullet 1 • Bullet 2 • Bullet 3 • Bullet 4 • Sub bullet • Sub bullet • Bullet 5 • Conventional mining is not effective below 3600 feet • Access to more potash-bearing formations • Purer product 5

  6. Solution Mining Recovery How it Works • Water is pumped into underground cavities • KCl dissolved into the liquid • Solution is pumped into the refinery Text Only Slide Title • Bullet 1 • Bullet 2 • Bullet 3 • Bullet 4 • Sub bullet • Sub bullet • Bullet 5 6

  7. The Solubility of Potassium Chloride & Sodium Chloride Text Only Slide Title • Bullet 1 • Bullet 2 • Bullet 3 • Bullet 4 • Sub bullet • Sub bullet • Bullet 5 Solution mining is possible due to the solubility differences between NaCl and KCl 7

  8. Mining Area: Our best kept secret • 2 Drilling Rigs, 8 Service Rigs on site • Drilling rigs typically drill 18 new wells per year • Utilizes conventional oil well drilling technology • Customized for potash solution recovery 8

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  10. Powerhouse Co-generative process: Natural gas boilers produce high-pressure steam Steam creates 40 MW of power using turbo-generators Generator exhaust provides heat source for refinery potash production & mining area injection water heat Only ~10% of the plant’s power needs come from the grid 10

  11. Evaporators Eight 185,000 gallon 5-story tall evaporators lined up in 2 rows of four Series configuration creates multiple effect to better utilize steam Concentrate the solution from the minefield into a KCl-rich solution 11

  12. Crystallizers Seven 120,000 gallon crystallizers convert the potash solution into crystal slurry by means of vacuum boiling, product separation, potash crystal growth and purification 12

  13. Cooling Ponds Secondary method of isolating KCl Solution is cooled courtesy of Mother Nature, causing KCl crystals to form and fall to the bottom of the ponds. Utilizing Saskatchewan’s cold winters to our advantage Improves overall plant energy balance Dredges are used to harvest the product “Free” crystallization 13

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