Tag Archives: Salt Lake Potash

Salt Lake Potash nears SOP production milestone at Lake Way

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Salt Lake Potash Limited remains on track for first production and sale of sulphate of potash (SOP) in the June quarter after declaring the commencement of process plant commissioning at its Lake Way project in Western Australia.

In a project update, the company said first time potassium-rich harvest salts, precipitated from lake aquifer brine, have been fed into an SOP plant in Australia.

These harvest sales were successfully fed into the feed hopper, conveyed to the surge bin, run through the lump breaker, and then into the attritioning feed tank at the front end of the process plant. This front-end plant commissioning was powered by 2 MW diesel generators, which will continue to be used to progress the process in the near term.

Over the coming weeks the utilities, conversion circuit, flotation circuits, crystallisers and dryer will all be commissioned ahead of full load commissioning and SOP production in the June quarter, it said.

Consultants from the plant designer, Wood Group, as well as vendors Veolia and Broadbent (among others) will be assisting in the commissioning process.

In the meantime, gas supply lines and the delivery station for the 10 MW power station have been fully commissioned, with “power on” scheduled for late April to support final commissioning activities and production commencement.

Lake Way is a 245,000 t/y SOP development with an expected mine life of over 20 years. Located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, it is expected to produce a high-quality SOP fertiliser with the help of Veolia Water Technologies’ HPD® crystallisation systems, among other processes.

GR Engineering and Salt Lake Potash to bring Lake Way SOP project to fruition

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GR Engineering Services has been engaged by Salt Lake Potash to help design and construct its Lake Way sulphate of potash (SOP) project in Western Australia.

Lake Way is a 245,000 t/y SOP development with an expected mine life of over 20 years. Located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, first production is expected by the end of the year.

GR Engineering is to provide services for non-process engineering design and the management of procurement, construction and commissioning of the Lake Way project processing facility and associated infrastructure, it said. The engineering firm has separately been engaged to undertake the civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and piping construction works for those project areas.

It is anticipated that aggregate revenue from the delivery of services, procurement and construction works associated with the Lake Way project from the commencement date to practical completion will be approximately A$107 million ($73 million), the company said.

“GR Engineering’s scope contemplates a collaborative arrangement, where it will work with Salt Lake Potash’s project team and manage the delivery of third-party process design and key equipment supply,” the company said. The construction scope will be performed on a target cost estimate basis, incentivising GR Engineering to achieve favourable budget and schedule outcomes, it added.

The engineering, procurement and construction contract involves the provision of plant, labour, materials and construction services for the process plant and non-process infrastructure, valued at A$85 million, while the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) agreement contract involves the provision of services for the EPCM for areas of the process plant and non-process infrastructure,valued at A$22 million, Salt Lake Potash said.

Geoff Jones, Managing Director of GR Engineering, said: “We are extremely pleased to have been engaged to play a key role in the delivery of the process plant and non-process infrastructure for the Lake Way project. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Salt Lake Potash to deliver safe and successful outcomes.

“GR Engineering looks forward to Salt Lake Potash emerging as a significant new Australian SOP producer.”

Last month, Salt Lake Potash contracted Veolia Water Technologies to supply HPD® crystallisation systems for Lake Way to help it produce a high-quality SOP fertiliser.

Veolia crystalliser technology to help Salt Lake Potash produce SOP

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Veolia Water Technologies says it has been contracted by Salt Lake Potash to supply HPD® crystallisation systems for its Lake Way potash mining project in Western Australia.

The systems will help the company produce a high-quality sulphate of potash (SOP) fertiliser, it said.

Salt Lake Potash is developing Lake Way into a 245,000 t/y SOP (K2SO4) operation, with first production expected by the end of the year. To recover low-cost, high-grade SOP, the production uses solar evaporation to concentrate the hypersaline, potassium-rich brines for salt harvesting, according to Veolia.

To further process these solids, Veolia will design and supply two HPD crystallisers: one to grow 32 t/h of high-purity potassium sulphate crystals, the other to recycle 54 t/h of solids to yield the maximum potassium recovery.

As part of this contract, Veolia provided bench-scale testing at its Phillip J. Stewart Technology centre in Plainfield, Illinois (USA). The results validated the feed chemistry, simulated the optimal flowsheet design, and confirmed process performance projections that helped to de-risk the project, according to the company.

To accelerate this fast-track project and achieve the delivery schedule, Veolia staged the progress to advance the basic engineering and testing simultaneously, it said. “These actions not only optimised capital investments but also lowered operating costs through a system design that minimises fouling and cleaning requirements,” the company explained.

Jim Brown, CEO of Veolia Water Technologies Americas, said: “We are pleased to support Salt Lake Potash in delivering natural fertilisers to a market hungry for specialty potash nutrients. Based on test work, which confirmed the process viability, our reliable proven crystalliser technology will help the flagship Lake Way project set the industry benchmark in producing high-grade SOP.”

With its HPD technologies tailored to growing fully-soluble crystals, Veolia helps global fertiliser producers optimise their recovery operations and the value of its product portfolio with a focus on enhancing environmental sustainability as well as energy and resource efficiencies, it said.