AS one of two local companies set to begin producing and exporting Sulphate of Potash (SoP) fertilisers next year, Kalium Lakes Limited (KLL) has added a fertiliser expert to its board.
Chemical engineer and recognised global fertiliser industry expert with extensive technical and market experience of fertiliser processing operations and products, Sam Lancuba, has been appointed a non-executive director.
In a 42-year career in the fertiliser industry, Mr Lancuba has worked in research and development, process engineering, manufacturing and management, KLL said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) last week.
He worked for 27 years at Melbourne-based global fertiliser, explosives and industrial chemicals producer Incitec Pivot Ltd before becoming a consultant to clients in Australia, New Zealand, United States, South America, Europe, India and China, KLL said.
He also worked in Zambia as a metallurgical engineer for two years and has expertise in the beneficiation, processing and marketing of phosphate rock.
Some of the projects he worked on were design and commissioning of a superphosphate plant in Argentina, beneficiation of phosphate rock in Queensland, the export of fertiliser from Australia and China, as well as the refurbishment of a phosphate mining and processing operation in Nauru.
KLL said Mr Lancuba advises fertiliser industry clients in a range of areas including plant design and maintenance, project management, project evaluation and marketing strategies for fertiliser products.
"We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Sam's wide ranging and expert experience agree to join the board," said KLL chairman Stephen Dennis.
"We are continuing to strengthen the foundations and provide the capacity which will allow the company to deliver the Beyondie Sulphate of Potash project on time and on budget.
"Sam's experience and insights will be invaluable as we look to commission Beyondie next year and deliver a world-class, quality product to the agriculture sector as a successful Australian producer of SoP."
The addition of Mr Lancuba continues changes to the KLL board and senior management team following a voluntary suspension from trading of the company's shares from the end of February to June when it announced a $61 million shortfall in funding to get the Beyondie project into production.
Subsequent share issues to raise the funds wiped about 70 per cent from the price of its existing issued stock.
Also, delays installing a gas pipeline and getting German-built processing equipment on site beside a chain of salt lakes in the Little Sandy Desert, 160 kilometres south east of Newman, pushed back its production start up date by about six months, making it the likely second Australian SoP fertiliser producer rather than the first.
KLL has indicated its Beyondie project was 63pc complete at the end of September and it expects to begin producing granular SoP fertiliser products from September next year.
As previously reported in Farm Weekly, new front running local SoP fertiliser company Salt Lake Potash Ltd (SO4 on ASX listings) is scheduled to begin production at Lake Way near Wiluna next March and expects to be exporting SoP by the end of the current financial year.
SO4 plans to produce a standard soluble SoP powder fertiliser and a fertigation grade soluble powder suitable for commercial hydroponic operations.
Also last week, another potential Western Australian SoP fertiliser producer, Agrimin Ltd (AMN), told the ASX the premium grade water soluble product it planned to produce at Lake Mackay on the WA-Northern Territory border had been approved for use on certified organic crops.
"It is exciting for Agrimin's high quality SoP product to be certified for use in organic agriculture which will allow us to target this rapidly growing market segment," said AMN chief executive officer Mark Savich.
"Based on our extensive customer engagement, we expect the organic market to play an increasingly important role in global SoP demand in the future."
The certification will enable AMN to provide third party assurance to customers that its fertiliser can be used in organic systems which are certified to the National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce and the Australian Standard AS 6000 for Organic and Biodynamic Products.
AMN has indicated it is about three years away from production.
It plans to deliver its fertiliser by dedicated road train 940km to Wyndham for export.
Last Thursday Trigg Mining, yet another local potential SoP fertiliser producer, told the ASX its renounceable rights issue has been oversubscribed and an extra placement will be undertaken to satisfy demand and increase the capital raising to $3.1 million.
It is now well funded to advance SoP projects at Lake Throssell and Lake Rason in the Eastern Goldfields, Trigg told the ASX.
A drilling program at Lake Throssell to delineate a maiden mineral resource estimate is expected to start next month, it said.
