OCP Group SA and Morocco’s mines and hydrocarbons agency Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) have partnered on a potash mining project in Khemisset, 80 kilometers east of Rabat in northern Morocco, according to a North Africa Post report, citing the country’s Hespress news portal.
According to the report, OCP won two licenses covering 176 square kilometers and has commissioned an engineering subsidiary company, Casablanca-based JESA, to assess best mineral extraction and processing. OCP has also reportedly partnered with Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University to undertake research on mineral extraction. OCP has not commented publicly on the reports.
Isle
of Man-registered potash junior Emmerson plc has been developing a potash
project at Khemisset for some time, securing the mining license for its 100%
owned project in February 2021 from the Moroccan Ministry of Energy, Mines, and
the Environment (GM Feb. 12, 2021).
The potash junior is targeting the production of 810,000 mt/y of potash at peak
production and 1 million mt/y of salt.
However, the project has met with delays in securing environmental approval.
Earlier this month, Emmerson reported that it was still waiting for Morocco’s
Ministerial Committee to meet to discuss the Environmental and Social Impact
Assessment (EISA) for the Khemisset project (GM Jan. 12, p. 28).
The project’s environmental approval was referred to the national Ministerial Committee in July 2023 after the local regional committee was unable to approve the application due to concerns about the Khemisset project’s impact on water resources (GM July 14, 2023).
In its fourth-quarter activities report, Emmerson said it had been repeatedly assured that the EISA meeting will take place “as soon as possible” and that no further significant issues remain. Emmerson had not responded to Green Markets for comment on this week’s Moroccan media reports.