Berezneki, Russia-Uralkali reports that a soil subsidence, or sinkhole, that occurred under the train tracks of a 6-km bypass railroad spur near Berezniki in the Perm potash region would have only a minor impact on the company’s potash schedule. Local media reported that the sinkhole actually swallowed up one potash railcar. The sinkhole resulted in the formation of a crater measuring about 20 by 10 meters as of Nov. 25. No injuries were reported. Uralkali said the crater occurred outside of the Uralkali industrial premises and that the company used the 6-km train tracks to transport potash from the plant of Mine Group 1 (BKPRU-1), whose annual capacity is about 300,000 mt of potash. The company’s production capacity is 5.5 million mt of potash, with about 95 percent of its products transported using another rail track. Uralkali is using motor vehicular transportation to deliver the greater part of its products from BKPRU-1 to loading terminals located at the railroad line used by the company. Uralkali does not anticipate any changes in its production plan and continues to explore possibilities for optimizing its production process. In order to eliminate risks associated with sinkholes in the area, a new 53-km bypass railroad spur was put into operation in 2009, and the main freight traffic of the Berezniki-Solikamsk transportation junction was redirected to the new line. Uralkali noted that it participated in the financing of the construction of the 53-kilometer Yaiva-Solikamsk railroad bypass, covering the areas of the Verkhnekamskoye potash-magnesium salts deposit, and allocated 6 billion roubles to the project.
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