Thai govt to push potash mining this year

[webfact]

Government to push potash mining this year



BANGKOK: -- Deputy Prime Minister M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula has vowed to press ahead with the government’s plan to open up potash mining industry as part of a strategy to stimulate the economy.

In his special address on “strategy to drive the economy to grow on sustainable basis”, M.R. Pridiyathorn said that the government has a plan to launch new industry to make use of existing natural resources such as to open up potash mining industry.

Citing the lastestgeological survey report which shows that there are huge deposits of potash ore in Thailand estimated at 400 billion tonnes worth about two trillion baht, he said that the government thinks it is about time to exploit potash ores for commercial use with the help of clean technology.

He expected the first mining contract to be signed this or next month to be followed by the second and third contracts in June and at the end of the year respectively.

The deputy prime minister said that the government had taken several steps to drive the economy including promotional privileges for new technological products, broadband development and restructuring of oil pricing.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/government-push-potash-mining-year


-- Thai PBS 2015-01-15

[BSJ]

Fantastic! 30 years from now they will be able to turn it into a municipal dump and dispose of waste properly.

[FangFerang]

Fantastic! 30 years from now they will be able to turn it into a municipal dump and dispose of waste properly.

potash mine.JPG

Oddly, the article fails to follow through on two key points, the first being negative and the second being very positive. The first is that the potash deposit is shallow and on the Korat plateau, covering about 90 sq miles, and will undoubtedly be strip mined as the picture above from BSJ shows. Secondly, potash is a key ingredient to fertilizers. Potash is curently imported into Thailand for fertilizer. This project embodies the King's self-sufficiency model altogether, and should drastically lower fertilizer costs for farmers across the board here. The size of the deposit is substantial, and foreign investors are clamoring to get a piece. The Thais should shut them out, do it as a homegrown enterprise, and hire a couple consultants.

The main danger of environmental impact is in the use of reagents to chelate the material. That can be neglibible (if properly handled) since evaporated reagents leave no traces.

It is a real and substantial opportunity. My unanswered questions are "Whose land is this? Has it 'suddenly' been bought up by individuals? Is it public land? Is there a mechanism in place to prevent abuse of land ownership for the project?

Edited January 15, 2015 by FangFerang

[Boksida]

Fantastic! 30 years from now they will be able to turn it into a municipal dump and dispose of waste properly.

potash mine.JPG

Oddly, the article fails to follow through on two key points, the first being negative and the second being very positive. The first is that the potash deposit is shallow and on the Korat plateau, covering about 90 sq miles, and will undoubtedly be strip mined as the picture above from BSJ shows. Secondly, potash is a key ingredient to fertilizers. Potash is curently imported into Thailand for fertilizer. This project embodies the King's self-sufficiency model altogether, and should drastically lower fertilizer costs for farmers across the board here. The size of the deposit is substantial, and foreign investors are clamoring to get a piece. The Thais should shut them out, do it as a homegrown enterprise, and hire a couple consultants.

The main danger of environmental impact is in the use of reagents to chelate the material. That can be neglibible (if properly handled) since evaporated reagents leave no traces.

It is a real and substantial opportunity. My unanswered questions are "Whose land is this? Has it 'suddenly' been bought up by individuals? Is it public land? Is there a mechanism in place to prevent abuse of land ownership for the project?

There are no open cut potash mines in the world. There is one planned in Eritrea where the mineral is much shallower than in Thailand and of a different type.

Potash is highly soluble and, as you may have noticed, it sometimes rains in Thailand. Underground mining is the chosen method for two of the deposits in Thailand but Laos is investigating the possibility of solution mining.

[gazzasore]

This mine is going to an Underground Mine

The Ore Body goes from Korat to Udon Thani