Belaruskali said it plans to reach output capacity at its Petrikov potash mining operation in Belarus’ Gomel region by early 2022, according to a BelTA report, citing the Petrikov Mine Administration on April 29.
The mine has a design capacity of 1.5 million mt/y and produced its first ore in January 2020 (GM Jan. 3, 2020). The potash processing plant was commissioned in June (GM June 12, 2020) and the company made the first commercial shipment of potassium chloride from Petrikov – to the domestic market – in August 2020 (GM Aug. 28, 2020).
In this week’s news report, the producer said deliveries of potassium chloride to the domestic market continue. It said over 50,000 mt was shipped to customers in 2020.
Belaruskali also reported that the production capacity of Petrikov may be increased to 3 million mt/y at a later stage. According to the company, the mine’s potassium reserves of about 2.2 billion mt are expected to keep the mine operational for 120 years.