Tag Archives: K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies

Hatch, ERCOSPLAN, K-UTEC on board for South Harz’s Ohmgebirge potash PFS

South Harz Potash Limited has appointed its specialist team to deliver the prefeasibility study for its 100%-owned Ohmgebirge potash development project in Thuringia, Germany.

Hatch is, South Harz Potash says, a recognised leader in the development and implementation of potash projects globally and has worked on projects in Europe, North America and beyond.

ERCOSPLAN and K-UTEC, both part of this team, have a long tradition in the development of potash projects in many parts of the world, and both are particularly experienced in the Thuringian “hartsalz” typical of the region, according to the company. Micon, meanwhile, will continue to provide geological support and will be responsible for the mineral resource estimate.

The PFS is set to further refine the engineering, design and cost estimates (to +/-20%) for the Ohmgebirge development, following the scoping study completed in August 2022. Key workstreams have already commenced with overall PFS completion scheduled for January 2024.

South Harz Chief Operating Officer, Lawrence Berthelet, said: “We are very pleased to be working with global industry leaders, Hatch, and premier German mine and process engineering teams, ERCOSPLAN and K-UTEC, to advance our flagship Ohmgebirge Development. Coupled with our geology partner, Micon, the external team will deploy its experience alongside our owner’s team to advance the project through the PFS workstreams and will provide essential support to the Environmental Impact Assessment and permitting processes announced earlier this month.”

The team will be under the in-house leadership of South Harz, Chief Operating Officer, Lawrence Berthelet, with key PFS specialist discipline engineering responsibilities.

Hatch will act as the lead consultant and study manager (external), with Owner’s Engineer responsibility. It will also carry out the infrastructure engineering and design, including all energy trade-off studies, plus capital and operating cost estimates.

ERCOSPLAN is the specialist engineering consultant responsible for mine planning, geological risk assessment, geotechnical modelling, shaft hoisting and underground backfill technology engineering.

K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies has responsibility for process flowsheet design, backfill technical and constituent engineering.

Mining consultant, Micon International, will provide continuity in geological modelling, Competent Person and mineral resource update provision.

The South Harz project hosts a globally large-scale potash JORC (2012) mineral resource estimate of 5,000 Mt at 10.6% K2O of inferred resources and 258 Mt at 13.5% K2O of indicated resources across four wholly-owned project areas within central Europe. This comprises three perpetual potash mining licences, Ohmgebirge, Ebeleben and Mühlhausen-Nohra, and two potash exploration licences, Küllstedt and Gräfentonna, covering a total area of approximately 659 sq.km.

The August 2022 scoping study outlined a 4.5 Mt/y run-of-mine project with a K2O head grade of 13.5% over a 21-year life.

Gensource signs up K-UTEC, Koeppern and Ebner for Tugaske potash project

Gensource says it has engaged a consortium of world-class potash process design and equipment fabrication companies to work together to provide a design-supply-commission package for the entire process plant at the Tugaske potash project, in Saskatchewan, Canada.

The kick-off of engineering work for the major process equipment package is another milestone for the project, the fertiliser development company said.

Gensource previously announced advances in the development and financing of the Tugaske project, with KfW IPEX-Bank and Société Générale, joint lead arrangers for the project debt, nearing completion of their due diligence process.

The total senior debt financing for the project is expected to be supported by export insurance coverage with the German Export Credit Agency (ECA), Euler Hermes.

To satisfy a significant portion of the German export requirement, Gensource has elected to work with a consortium of three German-based design and equipment fabrication companies, namely: K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies, Koeppern GmbH & Co KG and Ebner GmbH & Co KG.

“Individually, these companies represent world-class capabilities in their specific areas of expertise, whether in the design of potash and salt processing plants or the design and fabrication of equipment,” Gensource said.

Together, the three companies known as KKE have the capability to supply the entire main process plant in a single design-supply-commission package, the company said.

K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies will look at the physical chemistry, overall process development and engineering, including practical bench scale testing, for the project; Koeppern will be engaged for drying, compaction, and screening process design and compaction equipment design and manufacture; and Ebner (tour of Ebner fabrication facility in Eiterfeld, Germany, pictured below) will be in charge of cooling crystallisation process design and crystallisation equipment design and manufacture.

“Based on the combined experience and capabilities of KKE, Gensource saw an opportunity to not only work with these top-tier companies and have this work qualify for ECA coverage, but also to simplify the number of project interfaces by packaging the entire process plant into a single design-supply-commission contract package,” Gensource said.

“Together, these companies provide a complete solution: from receiving the raw brine from the solution mining wellfield all the way through to a final potash product, meeting the off-taker’s specifications, ready for storage and shipping.”

Additionally, by packaging the entire process plant into one export contract, Gensource says it de-risks the project through obtaining a process guarantee from KKE for product quality and process plant throughput.

To advance the scope on this process plant package, Gensource has initiated the first phase of engineering with KKE, which will start the detailed process and equipment design, leading to the fabrication and ordering of key equipment for the process plant.

Advancing the scope of this package supports a development timeline that targets production from the Tugaske project in late 2022, supplying product to Tugaske’s off-taker and future equity partner, Helm Fertilizers.

The efforts of the KKE group will be integrated into the project by Gensource’s key project delivery partners: Engcomp Engineering & Computing Professionals, the lead engineering and design consultant for the project; and South East Construction (SEC), the general construction contractor for the project, it said.

“Together, Gensource, Engcomp, and SEC are acting as an integrated team, responsible for the overall execution and delivery of the project,” Gensource said, explaining that both Engcomp and SEC were seasoned engineering and construction professionals in the Saskatchewan potash industry.

Mike Ferguson, President & CEO of Gensource, said: “The three companies of the KKE group have unrivalled global experience in the potash and salt industries and bring their tremendous know-how, experience and proven track record of success to our project.

“Together with Gensource, Engcomp, and SEC, KKE rounds out the world-class potash team that we have established, which will no doubt deliver a world-class sustainable potash production facility in Saskatchewan via the Tugaske project.”

Like other Gensource module designs, the Tugaske project will produce a minimum of 250,000 t/y of saleable muriate of potash product.

Beyondie SOP project advances with Ebtec, DRA, Köppern, Firm Construction contract awards

Kalium Lakes has awarded the key contracts for the engineering, procurement, construction management and commissioning associated with the development of the Purification Plant facilities at its Beyondie sulphate of potash project (BSOPP) in Western Australia.

The total value across the four key contracts awarded is in excess of A$60 million ($41 million), according to Kalium Lakes, and will see Ebtec GbR, DRA Global, Maschinenfabrik Köppern GmbH & Co and Firm Construction Pty join the project team.

The Beyondie SOP project aims to commence production at 82,000 t/y of SOP in 2020, before ramping up to 164,000 t/y of SOP for domestic and international sale. An initial mine life of between 30-50 years is anticipated for a project designed to be a low cost, long life and high margin producer, it said.

The contracts allow commencement of early works with the full scope subject to a final investment decision (FID), Kalium Lakes said.

“Importantly, all the contracts awarded are within the budget outlined in the bankable feasibility study (BFS) and front-end engineering and design,” the company said, with the agreements confirming the 15-month construction schedule, post FID, followed by a commissioning and ramp-up period.

The consortium Ebtec GbR is an arrangement between K-UTEC AG Salt Technologies and Ebner GmbR to provide engineering, procurement and supervision (EPS) services for the BSOPP, Kalium Lakes said. Kalium Lakes said both parties have worked together recently to provide similar services for a SOP plant in Austria that has been successfully running for several years. Ebtec will supply the process plant and provide equipment installation supervision, followed by the commissioning of the plant.

Ebtec’s EPS contract includes performance guarantees to ensure the quality of SOP production is in line with the requirements of an offtake agreement with fertiliser producer K+S and includes liquidated damages for performance and schedule, Kalium Lakes said.

An engineering, procurement and construction management contract has been executed with DRA, with that company taking the lead on overall BSOPP development and commissioning, according to Kalium Lakes. “DRA brings significant global and Western Australia specific project development experience, combined with SOP specific knowledge and experience that was developed with the involvement of DRA, since the prefeasibility study stage of the BSOPP,” the company said, adding that DRA has developed the basis for the overall project scope, budget and schedule.

Köppern has been awarded the engineering and supply of key equipment associated with the compaction plant for the production of granular SOP, Kalium Lakes said. “Köppern brings SOP-specific compaction experience and have successfully delivered these plants for other SOP projects, including K+S.”

A construction contract with Firm Construction has also been awarded for various construction services for the BSOPP. Firm is accredited under the WHS Scheme with the Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner, a requirement of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility financing the company has agreed, Kalium Lakes said.

Kalium Lakes’ Chief Development Officer, Rudolph van Niekerk, said: “Companies with SOP-specific experience and capabilities are hard to find, especially when looking for those that have taken projects from design into execution, then on to production. After years of investigation and months of negotiation, we have compiled a contracting strategy that brings a bankable solution, as well as achieving the next significant milestone to take us into the development stage of the project.”