Karnalyte Resources Inc., Saskatoon, said on Oct. 22 it continues to explore the development of the Proteos Nitrogen Project (GM May 18, p. 1) in Central Saskatchewan. “We are very pleased with the interest shown by the technology providers/contractors in our Proteos Nitrogen Project, as well as the positive first phase independent market study, both of which support and confirm our decision to pursue the development of the project,” said Frank Wheatley, Karnalyte president.
Karnalyte said it has received a total of eight expressions of interest (EOIs) from a select group of international technology providers and engineering, procurement, and construction contractors, for developing the project on a lump sum turn-key basis. It, along with strategic partner and largest shareholder Indian nitrogen producer Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. (GSFC), is currently classifying these EOIs in order to short list the providers to receive a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for development of the project on an EPC basis. The company is hoping to issue the RFP and locate a site for the plant in fourth-quarter 2018.
The small-scale nitrogen fertilizer plant would have a nameplate production capacity of approximately 700 mt/d of anhydrous ammonia and approximately 1,200 mt/d of urea. It would target a customer market of independent fertilizer wholesalers within a 400-kilometer radius of Saskatoon.
A secondary target market is U.S. Midwest fertilizer wholesalers near to the Canadian-U.S. border. The proposed plant would be the first greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant built in Canada in the last 26 years.
In addition to the nitrogen project, Karnalyte owns the construction-ready solution mining Wynyard Potash Project, with planned phase 1 production of 625,000 mt/y of high grade granular potash, and two subsequent phases of 750,000 mt/y each, taking total production up to 2.125 million mt/y. The company said all environmental permits remain valid, preliminary detailed engineering is complete, and the existing offtake agreement with GSFC remains in effect. Further development is dependent on improved potash prices.