Acron Group, Moscow, this week reported that “the active phase” of the Talitsky potash project in Russia’s Perm region is underway, with the group purchasing major equipment and conducting construction and installation operations for the project’s surface and underground facilities and infrastructure.
The sinking of the cage shaft was completed in April 2020, and the sinking of the skip shaft was completed in late November last year (GM Dec. 18, 2020).
The Russian fertilizer group said in August it was accelerating construction of the mine, and anticipated the first batch of potash could be produced in 2025 (GM Aug. 20, p. 1). According to a group investor presentation last month, the launch of the Talitsky mine remains on track for 2025.
In the presentation, the group put the remaining capex for the project with an initial design capacity of 2 million mt/y of potassium chloride at $1.3 billion, with a further $0.3 billion required for expansion to 2.6 million mt.
The group currently anticipates using at least 600,000 mt/y of the potash output from the project for in-house consumption, including for NPK fertilizer production.
The Acron Group owns a 50 percent plus one share stake in the Acron subsidiary –Verknekamsk Potash Co. (VPC) – developing Talitsky, with Russian banks holding the remaining interests.
In addition to advancing the Talitsky potash project, Popov said the group’s chemical division has an investment program through 2023 that includes “highly effective” brownfield projects.
He added the group already is exploring both brownfield and greenfield projects for the next investment cycle based on their anticipated impact on the group’s ESG agenda and carbon footprint.
Most of the current projects underway listed in the group’s presentation have been announced previously by the group (GM Aug. 13, p. 1). However, it now is adding a second urea granulation unit at the Acron Veliky Novgorod production site in northwest Russia as part of the upgrade of urea 1-4 units. It commissioned the first urea granulation unit in May 2020, also with a facility of 700,000 mt/y (GM May 22, 2020). Hitherto, the group had only produced urea that was prilled or rotoform.
According to its own calculations, The Acron Group became the largest urea producer in Europe, with total urea production capacity of 1.975 million mt/y, following the completion of its “Urea-6+” upgrade in August.
The group announced the launch of the CN project in March this year (GM March 19, p. 1), and it will be its first CN unit. Production is expected to start in 2022 and the group has said it plans to produce different calcium nitrate brands for both agricultural and industrial needs (GM May 7, p. 44).
Current Main Expansion Projects
| Timeline | Output increase (‘000 mt/y) | Capex $m | |
| Site: Acron, Veliky Novgorod | |||
| Construction of a CN unit | 2020-2022 | +100 | 22 |
| Increase of Ammonia-3 unit capacity | 2020-2023 | +200 | 95 |
| Increase of Ammonia-2 unit capacity | 2021-2023 | +175 | 95 |
| Increase of capacity for urea units 1 to 4 and construction of a urea granulation unit | 2021-2024 | Urea: +390 Granulation: +700 | 92 |
| Site: Dorogobuzh, Smolensk region | |||
| Construction of nitric acid unit and increase of capacity of AN units | 2020-2021 | AN: +180 |
In its nine-month earnings statement on Nov. 29, Acron Group Chairman Alexander Popov said the group is taking advantage of the lower debt burden to gradually accelerate capital expenditures (see Earnings story).