Isle of Man-based Emmerson plc reported that the environmental approval for its Khemisset potash and salt project in northern Morocco continues to be delayed. Emmerson is targeting production of 810,000 mt/y of potash at peak production and 1 million mt/y of salt at Khemisset.
Emmerson said it is still waiting for Morocco’s Ministerial Committee to meet to discuss the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (EISA) for the project, but has yet to receive a meeting date, according to a fourth-quarter activities update released by the company on Jan. 8.
Khemisset’s environmental approval was referred to the national Ministerial Committee in July last year after the local regional committee was unable to approve the application due to concerns about the project’s impact on water resources (GM July 14, 2023). Emmerson said it has been repeatedly assured that the EISA meeting will take place “as soon as possible” and that no further significant issues remain.
The appointment of a syndicate of leading international and Moroccan banks as initial mandated lead arrangers to coordinate and fund dual-tranche debt financing facilities for the development of the project in December was extended for a further 12 months until Dec. 31, 2024. The debt facility under discussion amounts to $310 million.
“While we have been continuing with our lobbying activities, we have limited our technical activities appropriately in order to preserve the company’s cash for as long as possible, although some important work has been undertaken to examine opportunities for further optimizing and enhancing the project economically and, more importantly, environmentally,” said Emmerson CEO Graham Clarke.
“Once we have the EISA approval, we will be in a position to move forward quickly with fundraising and technical work,” he said.